Dom Flemons – Prospect Hill The American Songster Omnibus
Format: 2CD (Bundled with 2015 EP and 12 Bonustracks)
Label: Omnivore Records
Releasedatum: 28 februari 2020
Grammy Award winner and two-time Emmy nominee Dom Flemons is known as “The American Songster.”
Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, music scholar, historian, and record collector. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones.
A co-founder of the Grammy®-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, he was a member of the group from their inception in 2005 through 2013. As a solo artist beginning in 2014, Flemons has performed at prestigious venues all around the world including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Grand Ole Opry, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Newport Folk Festival, opening ceremony at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Cecil Sharp House, and served as a U.S. representative at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Malaysia.
His third solo album, ‘Prospect Hill’, was released in 2014 after Flemons spent many years learning and playing with tradition bearers such as Marty Stuart, Taj Mahal, Guy Davis, Mike Seeger, and James “Boot” Hanks, among many others. After spending decades listening to a variety of vinyl records, 78s and cds, Flemons took these musical influences and transformed them into an album that redefines “The American Songster.” In 2020, this seminal release returns in an amazing expanded edition.
‘Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus’, due out February 28, 2020, is a two-CD and Digital collection containing a three-part journey: the original ‘Prospect Hill’ album; the 2015 Record Store Day nine-track EP ‘What Got Over’ (originally vinyl only, now making its first appearance on CD/Digital); and a third section, ‘The Drum Major Instinct’, a set of 12 previously unissued instrumental tracks that focus on moods, rhythm experimentations, and “the beats.”
The two albums serve as a comprehensive overview of Flemons’ repertoire, which spans over 100 years and bridges the gaps among blues, country, jazz, bluegrass, folk, and hip-hop beats. Flemons has recorded original songs and instrumental tracks that paint a mosaic of American music ranging from the songsters of the 1920s to the present.
The two albums serve as a comprehensive overview of Flemons’ repertoire, which spans over 100 years and bridges the gaps among blues, country, jazz, bluegrass, folk, and hip-hop beats. Flemons has recorded original songs and instrumental tracks that paint a mosaic of American music ranging from the songsters of the 1920s to the present.
With extensive liner notes from Flemons and his wife, Vania Kinard, matched by extraordinary photography from Timothy Duffy (whose works are in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of African American History and Culture, the New Orleans Museum of Art, among others), this new collection truly showcases Flemons’ artistry as a multi-instrumentalist, talents as a songwriter/producer, and dedication to deserving the moniker and brand “The American Songster.”
Track Listing:
Disc One
Part One — Prospect Hill
Disc One
Part One — Prospect Hill
01. ’Til The Seas Run Dry
02. Polly Put The Kettle On
03. But They Got It Fixed Right On
04. Have I Stayed Away Too Long?
05. Georgia Drumbeat
06. I Can’t Do It Anymore
07. Sonoran Church Two-Step
08. Too Long (I’ve Been Gone)
09. Marching Up Prospect Hill
10. It’s A Good Thing
11. Grotto Beat
12. Hot Chicken
13. San Francisco Baby
14. My Money Runs Out
All Tracks Produced by Dom Flemons
Disc Two
Part Two — What Got Over
01. Big Head Joe’s March
02. Milwaukee Blues
03. Clock On The Wall
04. Keep On Truckin’
05. Hot Chicken (Alternate Version)
06. Have I Stayed Away Too Long? (Alternate Version)
07. Going Backward Up The Mountain
08. ’Til The Seas Run Dry (Alternate Version)
09. What Got Over
All Tracks Produced by Dom Flemons
Part Three —The Drum Major Instinct
10. Wingtips
11. Going Backward Up The Mountain (Instrumental)
12. Sugar Dance
13. Grotto Beat (Instrumental)
14. The Songster Arrives
15. Georgia Drumbeat (Instrumental)
16. Clock On The Wall (Instrumental)
17. Hot Chicken (Instrumental)
18. Too Long (I’ve Been Gone) (Instrumental)
19. What Got Over (Instrumental)
20. The Grand Manifesto
21. Blue Butterfly
All tracks produced by Dom Flemons
Tracks 10–21 on Disc Two previously unissued