Shine a Light (Billy Bragg and Joe Henry album)

Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad is a 2016 album of field recordings made by British singer Billy Bragg and American musician Joe Henry in waiting rooms and trackside at railway stations on a journey between Chicago and Los Angeles in March 2016. The project was conceived after Henry produced Bragg's thirteenth studio album Tooth & Nail at his home studio in South Pasadena. It was released on the Cooking Vinyl label on 23 September 2016. The project is named after a lyric in the traditional folk song "Midnight Special" (mistakenly credited to Lead Belly after a 1934 recording he made).[5]

Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
Live album by
Billy Bragg and Joe Henry
Released23 September 2016
RecordedVarious railway stations between Chicago and Los Angeles March 2016
GenreFolk
Length42:58
LabelCooking Vinyl
ProducerBilly Bragg, Joe Henry
Billy Bragg chronology
Tooth & Nail
(2013)		 Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
(2016)		 Bridges Not Walls
(2017)
Joe Henry chronology
Invisible Hour
(2014)		 Shine A Light
(2016)		 Thrum
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Arts Desk[2]
The Guardian[3]
Popmatters[4]

Recording

In March 2016, English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and fellow troubadour and producer Joe Henry set off from Chicago's Union Station with the intention of "reconnect[ing] with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired."[5] They undertook a 2,700-mile, 65-hour train ride recording songs that ""reflect the railroad’s impact on the nation’s social and cultural life."[6] Woody Guthrie's Hobo’s Lullaby was captured at an Amtrak station in Alpine, Texas; the folk ballad Railroad Bill at St Louis Gateway station, Lonesome Whistle by Hank Williams in a sleeping berth near Whistle Junction, Missouri.[7]

A short documentary Shine a Light by director Ray Foley was made of the trip and streamed for free on the official website.[5]

Track listing

All songs performed by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry; music composers are listed below.

  1. "Rock Island Line" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 2:55
  2. "The L&N Don't Stop Here Any More" (Jean Ritchie) – 4:29
  3. "Midnight Special" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 3:34
  4. "Railroad Bill" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 2:49
  5. "Lonesome Whistle" (Hank Williams; Jimmie Davis) – 2:53
  6. "KC Moan" (Tewee Blackman) – 2:40
  7. "Waiting for a Train" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 2:46
  8. "In the Pines" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 3:31
  9. "Gentle on My Mind" (John Hartford) – 3:39
  10. "Hobo's Lullaby" (Goebel Reeves) – 3:57
  11. "Railroading on the Great Divide" (Sara Carter) – 3:08
  12. "John Henry" (traditional, arranged by Billy Bragg and Joe Henry) – 2:42
  13. "Early Morning Rain" (Gordon Lightfoot) – 4:13

Personnel

References
  1. Deming, Mark (September 22, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". Allmusic. Allmusic Group.
  2. Green, Thomas H (September 21, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". The Arts Desk. Popmatters.
  3. Simpson, Dave (September 22, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group.
  4. Frahm, Jonathan (September 20, 2016). "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Shine A Light — review". Popmatters. Popmatters Group.
  5. "Shine A Light". Official Shine A Light website. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  6. "Billy Bragg and Joe Henry review – just the ticket". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  7. "Laying down tracks: Billy Bragg and Joe Henry take a railroad trip to the blues". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
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