Various Artists - As Good As It Gets - Skiffle (2000)

Few in the U.S. will remember skiffle as a musical style as it blossomed and thrived in the United Kingdom. Even so, a few of the artifacts from this three or four year fad hit the charts in a big way in the States, notably "Rock Island Line" by Lonnie Donegan, "Freight Train" by Chas McDevitt Group and the execrable "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands" by the prepubescent Laurie London.
This excellent and inexpensive two disc set goes a long way toward rehabilitating the image of skiffle from some half-baked British take on American folk to something more committed and interesting. In retrospect, it should not be surprising that the British approached this antiquated American folk with the same intensity as they later approached r & b and blues.
The Lonnie Donegan numbers included here are some of the more interesting and less obvious choices. No less than thirteen tracks by the superb George Martin-produced Vipers are included. Not a single one is filler. The remarkable ex-pat American Johnny Duncan is also well represented. Two great cuts from pianist Johnny Parker (whose piano in 1956's "Bad Penny Blues" was the inspiration for the piano in the Beatles' "Lady Madonna")are featured from his brief skiffle phase. In all, there are 61 mostly well-chosen tracks. The misfits? Certainly the nine tracks by the Original Barnstormers Spasm Band which sound like what the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band were lampooning in their early days, but with so many great recordings here who can complain?
Sound quality is excellent. It is truly amazing what engineers with good ears were able to accomplish back in the days of single track recording.
Because of those few early hits that crossed the pond, skiffle may have played a pivotal role in setting the foundations for the late 50s/early 60s folk/hootenany boom in this country that gave us so many musical giants. But whether that occurred or not, skiffle certainly is what inspired young kids like Paul MacCartney and John Lennon to take up the guitar. I recommend this great economy anthology for any collection.₴Randall E. Adams