It's a shame the Belafonte Folk Singers only recorded three
albums. It was inevitable, however, that their fame would be short-lived,
limited to those three albums cut in as many years. Groups consisting of
twelve members are difficult to maintain financially, even in the go-go '60s
when folk music was all the rage. But also, the esoteric subject matter they
performed, mostly without accompaniment, was hardly the stuff of broad-based
popularity. Nevertheless, this third and final album of the Singers' trilogy
on RCA again examined songs from different cultures, some of which
("Muleskinner," "Shenandoah") had been performed by
Belafonte. Robert Corman, this time using the sobriquet "Robert
DeCormier," was again the conductor on this album, which featured mostly
songs from American folk tradition. One would like to know the names of all
of the singers; the notes on the three albums only pointed out the featured
soloist on each track. What is especially noteworthy in looking back at this
remarkable group is that they looked at American folk music in a non-racial
manner, mixing black and white traditions as easily as their voices blended.
~ Cary Ginell, All Music Guide |
