John Jacob Niles was an American composer, singer, and collector of traditional ballads who has been called the "Dean of American Balladeers." He was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, inspiring the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Joan Baez, but he was also a true paradox of a figure. While he collected and popularized now-standard songs such as "(Little) Matty Grooves, " "The Cherry Tree," "Barb'ry Allen," and "The Hangman," among many, many others, he sang them in an impassioned high falsetto that was so overly dramatic, it bordered at times on the burlesque. He often sang in the voice of characters of the songs, which sometimes was very effective, while sounding at other times unintentionally hilarious. He was also a crafter of traditional instruments, and he played guitar and lap dulcimer (which he helped to re-popularize), though he often preferred an enormous lute. There are many compilations of his recordings, and this two-CD collection is a straight forward re-release of his 1960 album, which was originally a companion to The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles. Songs on the CD include definitive renditions of "Bowie, Bowerie," "Brothers Revenge," "Jimmy Randal," "Lady Margot and Love Henry," "The Shepherd's Daughter and the King," "Fair John and the Seven Foresters," and "John of Hazel Green" among it's 24 tracks. While some of these versions might sound hopelessly dated and even silly to the modern listener, there is an unnamable hypnotic quality to Niles' presentation, and the listener often times finds himself swept into the drama of the story in a way that modern singers rarely accomplish. John Jacob Niles was a rare and strange one, indeed. - Lahri Bond (Dirty Linen - Leverett, MA)