Columbia River Collection

Columbia River Collection is the sound of a specific, lightning-strike moment in American history. Recorded in 1941, it captures Woody Guthrie at his most creatively fertile, having been commissioned to write songs for a documentary about the Grand Coulee Dam. The audio quality is unapologetically raw, carrying the hiss and crackle of mid-century field recordings, which only adds to the sense of witnessing a primary historical document. Guthrie’s voice is a dry, nasal instrument that sounds like it was forged in the dust of the plains, yet here it is applied to the lush, wet landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.

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