“I Ain’t Got No Home” is a song Woody wrote along with many other songs of the Dust Bowl, released on Victor Records in 1940 as Dust Bowl Ballads. It’s one of his most recorded songs, with great renditions by Bob Dylan & The Band, Bruce Springsteen, Beck and many others. Dylan’s 1968 live version with The Band is a classic. From a tribute to Woody Guthrie produced by John Hammond, it’s got that exultant electric wild mercury sound of Dylan on fire. Yet it sounds great, unlike the poorly balanced sound mixes of previous performances since “going electric” (a dynamic but erroneous phrase, since he always used an electrically-powered PA, even when playing solo acoustic). It’s got that great funky Basement Tapes sound of The Band, with Richard Manuel cooking on the piano. Also, the great Ry Cooder is on mandolin.
Songs with Banjo from Harold Hagler
