Folkways -- Spoken Word (LPs, CDs, Vinyl Record Albums) -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store
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Spoken Word

XSpoken word -- plus sports records and even some Folkways oddities!

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Close matches: 16
Close matches1
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Amiri Baraka, Jayne Cortez, & OthersBefore Columbus Foundation ... CD
Folkways, 1980. New Copy Gatefold ... Out Of Stock
A hip batch of underground poetry tracks – collected together by the Before Columbus Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting the works of African-American and Native American artists! Despite the 1980 date, the collection has a feel that's similar to earlier righteous poetry albums on the Folkways label – proof that the flames were still burning strong in the underground, even though artists such as these weren't getting as much mainstream attention at the end of the 70s! Most readings are recorded live, with a relatively spare, stark sound – and performances include "Dope" by Amiri Baraka, "St Louis Woman" by Ishmael Reed, "For The Poets" by Jayne Cortez, "Bark Is What Us Dogs Do" by David Meltzer, "Flipochinos, Being Your Woman, & Pacific Lover" by Cyn Zarco, and "Artist/Art This" by Victor Hernandez Cruz. CD

Close matches2
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Bernard BarshayFour American Murder Mysteries ... LP
Folkways, 1967. Very Good+ ... Out Of Stock
... LP, Vinyl record album

Close matches3
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Sterling A BrownPoetry Of Sterling A Brown – Read By The Author ... CD
Smithsonian Folkways, Late 40s/1950s/1960s/Early 70s. Used ... $5.99
... CD

Close matches4
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Angela DavisAngela Davis Speaks ... CD
Folkways, 1971. New Copy Gatefold ... $12.99 16.98
A really unique document of the struggle and story of Angela Davis – recorded in 1971 by ABC news, and packaged together here as kind of a sonic program by Folkways! The record works like a short news program – starting out with a statement by Angela, then moving to a narrated introduction, then a long interview conducted by Joe Walker of Muhammad Speaks. Side two continues with a panel discussion on the case, then ends with some very cool "man in the street" style interviews! Capped off with a really great cover photo of Angela too! CD
(Special limited CD – pressed up for us by the Smithsonian Folkways label. Comes with original cover artwork, and the CD also features a PDF file with the original liner notes and other materials from the original record release.)

Close matches5
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Ruby DeeWhat If I Am A Woman Vol 2 – Black Women's Speeches ... CD
Folkways, 1977. Used ... Out Of Stock
A pretty cool collection produced by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee – focusing on famous speeches by important female African-Americans – mostly focusing on the civil rights era, but also featuring an early speech by Ida B Wells. Ruby reads the speeches, and works include "I Am A Black Revolutionary Woman (1971)" by Angela Davis, "The Right To A Decent Life & Human Dignity (1971)" by Coretta Scott King, "It Is Time For A Change (1969)" by Shirley Chisolm, and "Lynching, Our National Crime (1901)" by Ida B Wells. CD

Close matches6
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Sarah Webster FabioJujus – Alchemy Of The Blues ... LP
Folkways/Smithsonian, 1976. New Copy (reissue)... Temporarily Out Of Stock
An incredible album, and very unique! Sarah Webster Fabio was a hip 70s poet with a very righteous sound – and she's working here with funky backings by a tight group that includes family members, in a style that's similar to early 70s work by artists like Wanda Robinson and Camille Yarborough – both of whom also mixed together funk and poetry! The album's got a massive funky cut called "Sweet Songs" – the kind of groover we never tire of, with tight drums, great guitar, and wonderful vocals by Sarah herself. There's lots of other great tunes too – with titles that include "Juju For Grandma", "Still A Red Hot Axe", "Chromo", "If We Come As Soft Rain", and "Jujus/Alchemy Of The Blues". (Soul, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album
(Beautiful heavy pressing – almost like the original!)

Close matches7
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Sarah Webster FabioTogether To The Tune Of Coltrane's Equinox ... LP
Folkways/Smithsonian, 1977. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
Seminal 70s work from Sarah Webster Fabio – an amazing blend of poetry and music, and incredibly hip all the way through! Fabio's got a depth that goes beyond other commercial poets of the time – a righteousness that's right at home in the spiritual jazz scene of the 70s, and which is supported here by some great backings on guitar, bass, and percussion – plus some especially evocative saxophone, played by Denianke (Leon Williams) on some of the best tracks. The voice of Thomas Fabio joins Sarah on some of the numbers – with a brooding, echoey feel that's really great – and titles include "Eclipse", "Interrogation", "Together To The Tune Of Coltrane's Equinox", and "A Black Girl's Mean Ol Low Down Blues". (Soul, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album
(Beautiful heavy pressing – almost like the original!)

Close matches8
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Nikki GiovanniCotton Candy On A Rainy Day ... CD
Folkways, 1978. Used ... Out Of Stock
One of the lesser-known 70s albums by Nikki Giovanni – a wonderful selection of material from her book Cotton Candy On A Rainy Day – read in a spare setting, without any musical accompaniment! In some ways, this album's even better than the more famous Giovanni albums on Atlantic – as Nikki's vocals really come across beautifully without any music – strong and expressive, but without any overdone moments – and clearly no attempt to commercialize her words by turning them into songs. Titles include "Gus", "Habits", "Boxes", "Crutches", "The New Yorkers", and "Winter". (Soul, Spoken Word) CD

Close matches9
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Nikki GiovanniReason I Like Chocolate ... LP
Folkways, 1976. Near Mint- ... $29.99 34.99
A beautiful post-Atlantic album from Nikki Giovanni – much more intimate and personal than her better known work, with only Nikki's voice throughout the album – heard on a number of shorter poems! At some level, Giovanni seems to have left behind the more righteous themes of before, and is going for a mode here that's a bit more everyday – but still touched with the deeper reflections that make her so great. The titles of the poems tell enough about the subject matter – and they include "Parent's Never Understand", "Mommie's Daddies", "Ego Tripping", "James Shell's Snowball Stand", "Knoxville Tennessee", "Winter Poem", "The Drum", and "Kidnap Poem". (Soul, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album
(In great shape!)

Close matches10
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Langston HughesStory Of Jazz ... CD
Folkways, 1954. New Copy ... Out Of Stock
A very cool record! Langston tells the story of jazz, using snippets of work from the Folkways catalog – like tunes by Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodd, Ma Rainey, Leadbelly, and others – all sewn together in a rich narrative on the history of the music, delivered with some surprising illumination by Hughes! His voice is always a treat, and even though his narration of the material is designed for an audience of newcomers to jazz, it more than held our attention throughout – and the record's got almost as much appeal as some of his own jazz poetry work. CD

Close matches11
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Langston HughesStory Of Jazz (10 inch) ... LP
Folkways, 1954. Very Good- ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
A very cool record! Langston tells the story of jazz, using snippets of work from the Folkways catalog – like tunes by Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodd, Ma Rainey, Leadbelly, and others – all sewn together in a rich narrative on the history of the music, delivered with some surprising illumination by Hughes! His voice is always a treat, and even though his narration of the material is designed for an audience of newcomers to jazz, it more than held our attention throughout – and the record's got almost as much appeal as some of his own jazz poetry work. LP, Vinyl record album
(Ex-libris copy. Includes insert! Cover has tape on all seams, some surface wear, ink stamps, with a large peel on the back in the 'blank' area.)

Close matches12
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Langston HughesVoice Of Langston Hughes ... CD
Folkways, 1950s. Used ... Out Of Stock
A wonderful collection of work from Langston Hughes – material pulled from a handful of albums recorded for the Folkway labels in the 50s, all of which are pretty darn great and long out of print! Hughes' writings are well known – part of a rich tradition of African-American expression in the 20th Century – but his readings of his own work are equally great – performed at a level that really illuminates the text, and balances them with all the right stress and meaning that can sometimes be overlooked given the simple nature of his language. Most of the sides here feature Hughes alone, reading his work – but a few also feature bits of music too – touches of jazz or gospel that further set the scene, and point to Langston's later experiments with Charles Mingus. Titles include "Breath Of A Spiritual", "Homesick Blues", "The Weary Blues", "I Too", "The Negro Speaks Of Rivers", "Simple Prays A Prayer", "Rhythms Of The World", "The Struggle", "Youth", and "Mother to Son". CD

Close matches13
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Timothy Leary & Ralph MetznerPsychedelic Experience ... CD
Folkways, 1966. New Copy Gatefold ... Out Of Stock
A wonderful early bit of psychedelia from an academic perspective – a record that features Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert – all reading from the book The Psychedelic Experience A Manual Based On The Tibetan Book Of The Dead! The album's divided up into two sections – "Going Out" and "Coming Back" – and there's a nice "scientific" feel to some of the work, especially striking given the early date! Vocals are recorded in a stark sort of way – almost dream-like at times – and there's a bit of Tibetan bells which further adds to this quality of the record. CD

Close matches14
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Kenneth PatchenKenneth Patchen Reads With Jazz In Canada ... CD
Folkways, 1958. New Copy ... $12.99 16.99
Kenneth Patchen, like Kenneth Rexroth, was one of the few poets who really understood what it meant to read and write in a jazz idiom – as you'll hear on this excellent set of beatnik jazz tracks! The album features Patchen reading in a great style – angular, cynical, really working the words of his poems perfectly over backings by the Alan Neil Quartet. The poems are set to music written by George Wallington, Charlie Parker, and others – and tracks include "There's A Place", "They Won't Let You In There", "Do I Not Deal With Angels", "Not Many Kingdoms Left", "The Lonesome Boy Blues", "As I Opened The Window", and "A Sight Is Little Altered". CD
(Special limited CD – pressed up for us by the Smithsonian Folkways label. Comes with original cover artwork, and the CD also features a PDF file with the original liner notes and other materials from the original record release.)

Close matches15
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Sonia SanchezSun Lady For All Seasons Reads Her Poetry ... LP
Folkways, 1971. Very Good+ ... Out Of Stock
Very righteous work from this obscure 70s poet – a contemporary to Nikki Giovanni, Camille Yarbrough, and others – but not nearly as widely recorded! The album features no instrumentation, just Sonia reading her poems – and the work itself is pretty progressive, very much in the spirit of other hip female poets of the time, although perhaps a bit more personal in some of the subject matter – especially given that the album is introduced by Sanchez as "talking about love – a black woman's love for her man, children, nation." Titles include "A Black Woman Speaks", "Listen To Big Black", "Liberation Poem", "A Needed Poem For My Salvation", "When We Come", "It's A New Day", and "To Anita". 24 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album
(Blue label pressing. Includes the booklet, bent at the back page. Cover has peeled spots from sticker removal, patch of tacky adhesive, library stamp in front, and some splitting in the bottom seam. Label has a sticker and small ink stamp.)

Close matches16
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ VariousVoix De 8 Poetes Du Canada ... LP
Folkways, 1958. Very Good+ ... $16.99
Featuring Alain Grandbois, Anne Hebert, Paul-Marie Lapointe, and more. LP, Vinyl record album
(Maroon label pressing. Includes booklet! Textured cover is nice.)
 
 
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