UK collection. The big-voiced Ms Henske's two albums for Elektra Judy Henske from 1963 and High Flying Bird from the following year, released together on one CD. She had to be loud as she learned her trade warming up audiences, un-amplified, for Lenny Bruce in Sunset Strip coffee houses - her beat-keeping stamp occasionally destroying the stage. Eschewing "little girl" folk songs for the lure of whorehouse blues and murder ballads, Henske's renditions are totally her own while her charismatic spoken introductions are a perfect foil for the gutsy vocals which follow. She runs the entire gamut of emotions; often very funny but also tender, raunchy, yearning and sensual. This reissue captures a time when Judy Henske was a force of untamed nature in the safe folk world, maybe too big for the era then unfolding outside. Sleeve notes are by Kris Needs, based on an interview with the now 80 year-old Judy.
01 Low Down Alligator 02 Empty Bed Blues 03 Ballad Of Little Romy 04 Wade In The Water 05 Hooka Tooka 06 I KNow You Rider 07 Lily LAngree 08 Lilac Wine 09 Love Henry 10 Every Night When The Sun Goes In 11 Salvation Army Song
Disc 2
01 High Flying Bird
02 Buckeye Jim 03 Till The Real Thing Comes Along 04 Oh 05 You Engineer 06 BAltimore Oriole 07 Blues Chase Up Rabbit 08 Lonely Train 09 Duncan And Brady 10 God Bless The Child 11 Good Old Wagon 12 You Are Not My First Love 13 Charlotte Town