Paul Robeson - Ballads For Americans & Carnegie Hall Concert Vol. 2 (1965)

Paul Robeson  (1898–1976) was an influential African American singer, actor, and social activist.

In the late 1950s, Paul Robeson, like the Weavers - who also were persona non grata at the major labels due to their leftist political views - began recording for Vanguard Records, a New York-based independent label that wasn't afraid of controversial artists.

When Paul Robeson took the stage at Carnegie Hall in May of 1958, it had been 11 years since he had previously concertized freely in the United States. Blacklisted from the entertainment industry at home, and with the State Department unwilling to issue him a passport, he had fallen into eclipse as a singer and actor over the previous eight years. The concert recorded here, one of two at Carnegie Hall in May of 1958, marked his return.

The highlight of this album, however, is the title track, "Ballad for Americans," which Vanguard can justifiably be said to have rescued from oblivion in the RCA-Victor catalog. Clocking in at ten minutes, the 1939 recording is a fascinating, still somewhat compelling concept work authored by Earl Robinson and John LaTouche, in which Robeson represents the entire country, all of "the people," in this grand musical canvas, supported by a chorus and a full orchestra. His voice is richer on this cut than on any of the other material here, understandable since it was recorded nearly two decades earlier, and the only drawback is that this piece - by its nature as an overtly political, patriotic leftist work - is as much acted as sung. One needed a larger-than-life vocal presence such as Robeson to pull this off. One can only be grateful for Vanguard's foresight in acquiring the quarter-century-old recording for this compilation in its original double-LP format, and to RCA-Victor (who were likely only too happy to let it go for whatever money they could get, at the time) for permitting its use; the song, although somewhat arch and pretentious at times, is a vivid reminder of the era in which Robeson made his name, and great battles for the hearts and minds of audiences were being fought daily.

Paul Robeson - Ballads For Americans & Carnegie Hall Concert Vol. 2 (1965)
(128 kbps, front & back cover included)

Thanks a lot to Mick for sharing this album!