AMG Review of African American Folk Songs & Rhythms

Richie Unterberger
All Music Guide

Although Ella Jenkins' records were in large part intended for educational use, collections such as this one also endure as strong folk music on its own merits. Frequently accompanied by the Goodwill Spiritual Choir of the Monumental Baptist Church in Chicago, these are strong and committed renditions of African-American folk songs. Plenty of these tunes are well known by both folk fans and the general public, and plenty of listeners may well have heard "Wade in the Water" (the album's standout), "Old Time Religion," "Hammer Song," and "Cotton-Eyed Joe" for the first time here. While the call-and-response interplay between Jenkins and the choir is good, she could also be effective on solo numbers like "Who's Gonna Be Your Man?," on which the only backing to her voice is supplied by minimal percussion that sounds like a stick and hollow drum being tapped. There's also a version of "No More Auction Block," sung by Bob Dylan in the early '60s (although he may have learned it from Odetta's rendition); its melody was adapted for Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind."