AMG Review of Country & Folk Roots

Steve Leggett
All Music Guide

What makes this unadorned and no-frills compilation of Woody Guthrie songs stick out a little from the countless other single-disc packages of Guthrie material available is a simple commitment to include only his most famous songs. "Pastures of Plenty," "This Land Is Your Land," "The Grand Coulee Dam," "Talkin' Dust Bowl Blues," "Vigilante Man," "I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore," and both parts of "Tom Joad," the song that inspired Bruce Springsteen to record The Ghost of Tom Joad, are all here in a well-sequenced set. While serious Guthrie fans and scholars will want to seek out the more chronological and comprehensive releases, Country & Folk Roots is perfect for the casual listener looking for an introduction to this prolific and historically important artist.