Sometime last week I was up far too late into the morning, chaining my way around emusic and somehow I managed to land on their country/folk listings. Generally, I’m not a very big fan of either category (country especially, though definitely exceptions from both), and I was just about to start a new search when this caught my eye. And how couldn’t it, right? The title, the artwork, they implore, they demand your attention.

People Take Warning! is more than just a mere compilation of songs. What Tompkins Square has done is create an incomparable anthology of early twentieth-century folk songs both exceptionally expansive and utterly immersive. This collection blurs the line between homage and elegy, presenting the listener with a vibrant yet tragic collage evocative of a wholly unique era that saw unprecedented progress coupled with devastation.

With three discs and over 70 songs, People Take Warning! can be a bit daunting initially, but I think it’s incredibly easy to become captivated by the simplicity, the poignancy of the songs. No unnecessary embellishment blemishes any of the tracks; the emphasis is always on the voice, the words, the stories told. Far from the cut and paste, auto-tune, boundless compression Pro-Tools rig set-up of modern day studios, these tracks were all recorded in one take with real musicians, with real voices–characteristics largely absent today.

The three discs are simply titled Man vs. Machine, Man vs. Nature, and Man vs. Man, and I find this the most interesting attribute of the collection. The modern era was one in which humanity’s triumphs seemed to swell to god-like heights. The industrial age convinced us that nothing was impossible, that mankind could make anything yield to it, but as history and these songs clearly document we will never entirely master our own creations, most certainly not nature, and, all the more tragically, we will never master ourselves.

People Take Warning! will cost you around 50 American after tax. Sounds a little steep, but with three discs of material, a 48-page booklet of photographs, and an introduction by none other than Tom Waits himself, the package is well worth it. If you’re at all interested in this anthology, I’ll also recommend that you check out other depression-era groups like the Inkspots and the Mills Brothers.

Hi Henry Brown & Charlie Gordan- Titanic Blues

Earl Johnson - The Little Grave Down in Georgia

The Skillet Lickers - Wreck of the Old 97