I almost posted these comments and questions to the "Cd's/Sets You're Listening To" thread, but it seemed that thread had wandered astray and besides, I though that Old Hat really deserves a thread of its own. Admittedly a newcomer to the field, I have never even held a blues 78 or heard it's scratchy sound on the phonograph. Heck, I don;t even own a phonograph - not even sure where to get one. I've been limited to Cd's and MP3s, and I've gotta say that after hours with Documents and JSP boxed sets, popping an Old Hat CD in is like a breath of fresh air and - more importantly - clean sound. I can actually hear the guitar runs and the banjo uke phrases that are so muddled and muddied in other reissues. I guess I am saying "Hats off!" to Old Hat Records for such a superb job. Not only the audio quality, but the song selections, the liner notes, the accompanying photos and images - if another company is putting out a better total package, please somebody tell me who they are.
Speaking of which, who exactly is/are Old Hat Records? They operate out of North Carolina and seem to consist primarily of a fellow by the name of Marshall Wyatt, presumably a record collector among other things. Is he know to Weenies? He borrows a lot from other collectors, including one Joe Bussard, for whose collection he has issued an entire CD compilation.
I first bought the Gastonia Gallop CD, to accompany my reading of the Linthead Stomp book, and I was so highly impressed with sound quality, liner notes, etc., that I purchased In The Pines, another CD of white stringband music from NC. After that I went in for the double-CD set Good For What Ails You: Music From The Medicine Shows 1926-1937, which is frankly the best CD set on my shelf, period. Just a couple of weeks ago I went all in and bought the rest of the catalog. I've now got all 7 of the Old Hat releases, and I am currently listening incessantly and repeatedly to the two violin blues Cd's: Violin, Sing The Blues For Me and Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow. Again, the material is top notch, the sound quality is unbeatable, and the track listings (with musicians/instruments, date and location of recordings), notes and images are like a king's treasure trove.
I see from the Old Hat website that they have planned a coming release titled Lumberton Wreck, which will be an album of artists under the management of entrepreneur James Baxter Long (these artists include Lake Howard, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Boy Fuller, and Sonny Terry). I am looking forward to that release and hope there are many, many more to follow. Once again, I say "Hat's off!" to Old Hat Records!
Speaking of which, who exactly is/are Old Hat Records? They operate out of North Carolina and seem to consist primarily of a fellow by the name of Marshall Wyatt, presumably a record collector among other things. Is he know to Weenies? He borrows a lot from other collectors, including one Joe Bussard, for whose collection he has issued an entire CD compilation.
I first bought the Gastonia Gallop CD, to accompany my reading of the Linthead Stomp book, and I was so highly impressed with sound quality, liner notes, etc., that I purchased In The Pines, another CD of white stringband music from NC. After that I went in for the double-CD set Good For What Ails You: Music From The Medicine Shows 1926-1937, which is frankly the best CD set on my shelf, period. Just a couple of weeks ago I went all in and bought the rest of the catalog. I've now got all 7 of the Old Hat releases, and I am currently listening incessantly and repeatedly to the two violin blues Cd's: Violin, Sing The Blues For Me and Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow. Again, the material is top notch, the sound quality is unbeatable, and the track listings (with musicians/instruments, date and location of recordings), notes and images are like a king's treasure trove.
I see from the Old Hat website that they have planned a coming release titled Lumberton Wreck, which will be an album of artists under the management of entrepreneur James Baxter Long (these artists include Lake Howard, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Boy Fuller, and Sonny Terry). I am looking forward to that release and hope there are many, many more to follow. Once again, I say "Hat's off!" to Old Hat Records!