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Lifelong political activist and Blues/Jazz/Folk singer Barbara Dane - namechecked by the likes of Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, etc, and routinely compared with Bessie Smith - commenced her recording career in 1956. Possessor of an extraordinary voice, in 1958 Time Magazine described her: "The voice is pure, rich and carries the dusky legato that still echoes the New Orleans of forty years ago... as rare as a 20 carat diamond. "This compilation pairs up her first two LPs, Trouble In Mind (1957) and Livin' With The Blues (1959), plus a trio of contemporaneous bonus tracks, recorded in 1956. For many years her early recordings were unavailable in any format; this is the first time these sides have been thus paired up. Described as "America's Great Lost/Forgotten Icon", she is only now, belatedly, receiving due acknowledgement. Barbara still records and performs occasionally; in 2017 she headlined a gig at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, in honour of her 90th birthday
Barbara Dane