Released 1959 Length 40:16 | Genre Folk, blues Label Vanguard | |
My Eyes Have Seen
(1959) Ballad For Americans and Other American Ballads
(1960) | ||
My Eyes Have Seen is the third album by American folk singer Odetta, first released in 1959. After two small releases, Odetta had now moved to the larger, more folk and jazz oriented label Vanguard.
Contents
Milt Okun arranged and conducted a choir on a portion of the songs, notably "Motherless Children", "Ox-Driver Song" and the title piece.
My Eyes Have Seen was re-released on CD in 1994.
Reception
In his review for Allmusic, critic Ronnie D. Lankford wrote of the album, "While it might be hard for a post-millennium roots fan to understand, Odetta—in her heyday—was the kind of folk artist who drove purists crazy... even at her most experimental [she] can hardly be compared to the Kingston Trio or the Limeliters. My Eyes Have Seen is a nice portrait of a performer bucking conformity as she stretches her artistic legs a bit.."
Track listing
All songs Traditional unless otherwise noted.
- "Poor Little Jesus" – 1:54
- "Bald Headed Woman" – 2:20
- "Motherless Children" – 2:10
- "I Know Where I'm Going" – 2:00
- "The Foggy Dew" (Canon Charles O’Neill) – 5:29
- "I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain/Water Boy" (Avery Robinson) – 6:54
- "Ox-Driver Song" – 2:35
- "Down on Me" – 2:55
- "Saro Jane" – 2:45
- "Three Pigs" – 1:18
- "No More Cane on the Brazos" – 3:38
- "Jumpin' Judy" – 2:26
- "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Julia Ward Howe) – 3:52