Good to see that the 4th Volume of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music will be re-released by  Cargo Records at the attractive knock down price of £12.99 on 7th June 2010.

It is nothing short of a scandal that it was out of print in the first place.

This is a genuine bargain especially as it sounds as if they have retained the original format of  the packaging with 96 pages , including info about each of the 28 tracks. There are 5 informative mini essays including pieces by Greil Marcus and John Fahey.

I think Marcus is right to say that this volume lacks the magic and mystery of the 84 recordings that make up the first three volumes but it is still a fascinating and essential collection.

A word of warning, though – if you get hooked on this you won’t be able to resist shelling out on Smithsonian’s handsome box set of the original anthology.

But, then again, every household should have this!