Oh Brother, Can You Spare a Dime: American Songs from the Depression Era is a Peter Rowan album released on CMH CD-8818, presenting the Massachusetts-born multi-instrumentalist and songwriter in a historical survey of music from the 1930s economic crisis. Rowan — who had paid his bluegrass dues as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the late 1960s before pursuing a solo career that ranged across bluegrass, country rock, and world music — brings genuine scholarly affection and performing authority to the Depression-era repertoire. The CMH release fits within the label's broader documentary mission, and Rowan's deep roots in the acoustic tradition give the project an authenticity that distinguishes it from purely nostalgic treatments of the same historical material.
Tracklist
- 1 I ain't got no home
- 2 Freight train blues
- 3 Big Rock Candy Mountain
- 4 Brother can you spare a dime?
- 5 May I sleep in you barn tonight mister
- 6 No Depression in Heaven Source Recording 3:20
- 7 In the Jailhouse Now alt version 3:36
- 8 Jimmie Brown the Newsboy alt version 3:20
- 9 Boll Weevil alt version 2:36
- 10 There'll be no distinction
- 11 Cocaine blues
- 12 I’ll Fly Away alt version 3:57
- 13 Waiting for a train
- 14 Cannonball blues
- 15 Peach pickin' time in Georgia
- 16 Eddie's matchbox blues
- 17 Heaven bound train 2:10
- 18 Angel Band alt version 2:15
