The Tin Angel Explained

The Tin Angel
Type:	studio
Artist:	Odetta & Larry
Cover:	Odetta and Larry - The Tin Angel CD cover.jpg
Recorded:	1953–54, Tin Angel bar, San Francisco
Genre:	Blues, country blues, folk
Label:	LP: Fantasy 3252/3345 Vocalion LAE 541 (UK) CD: Original Blues Classics, OBCCD-565-2

The Tin Angel is Odetta & Larry's only album, and the first recording by Odetta, originally released in September 1954 on Fantasy Records.^[1]

Background

• The album is a collection of recordings of Odetta and Larry Mohr from 1953–54; it was partially recorded live at San Francisco's Tin Angel nightclub. The 1993 CD re-release contained six extra tracks, recorded in March 1954.
• Like much of Odetta's early work, "The Tin Angel" combines traditional songs (e.g. spirituals) with blues covers. It is often only credited as an Odetta solo album, perhaps because she went on to have the more successful career.

Track listing

• Marked [*] are 1993 CD bonus tracks.
  All songs traditional unless stated.

1. "John Henry" – 3:09
2. "Old Cotton Fields at Home" (Leadbetter) – 3:59
3. "The Frozen Logger" (Haglund, Stevens) – 2:53
4. "Run, Come See Jerusalem" (Blind Blake) – 2:06
5. "Old Blue" – 2:36
6. "Water Boy" – 3:40
7. "Santy Anno"^[2] – 2:18
8. "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago"/"The Biggest Thing" (Woody Guthrie) – 2:47
9. "Riding in My Car (Car Song)" (Woody Guthrie) – 1:27
10. "No More Cane on the Brazos" – 2:19
11. "Payday at Coal Creek" – 3:02
12. "'Buked and Scorned" – 2:46
13. "Rock Island Line" (Leadbetter) – 1:47
14. "Another Man Done Gone" [*] (Hall, Lomax, Lomax, Tartt^[3]) – 3:05
15. "Children Go Where I Send Thee" [*] – 2:35
16. "I Know Where I'm Going" [*] – 2:10
17. "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" [*] – 1:55
18. "Timber" [*] – 3:49
19. "Wade in the Water" [*] – 1:57

Album

• The original vinyl LP was transparent red in color.

External links

• [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r190729|pure_url=yes}} "The Tin Angel" on Allmusic]
• "Odetta And Larry" (album) at Musicstack
• The Tin Angel on Amazon and Amazon.co.uk (further information/reviews)

Notes and References

1. News: Fantasy 3-15 . 20 June 2019 . The Billboard. Cincinnati. The Billboard Publishing Co. . 18 September 1954.
2. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20061216210821/http://users2.ev1.net/~smyth/linernotes/thesongs/SantyAnno.htm . Santy Anno . December 16, 2006 . August 13, 2003 . Kingston Trio Liner Notes . dead .
3. Web site: Ruby Pickens Tartt . Alabama Women's Hall of Fame . 2005.