hypersongs

How Sad, How Lovely

The 2009 compilation of her 1950s tapes: eighteen songs, voice and guitar, that started the rediscovery.
Connie Converse, 2009

Wikipedia dates the recordings to 1954 in Gene Deitch's kitchen, though other accounts describe mid-1950s sessions and house-party tapes, so the exact date and place of any one song is not settled. Gene Deitch operated tape on several tracks, including the opener. The record was reissued by Squirrel Thing in 2015 (the 18th track was added on that vinyl), as hi-res digital in 2019 and by Third Man in 2026. PopMatters wrote of the reissue that it is an alien approximation of the folk tradition; BBC News in 2014 heard haunting, beautiful songs with a poetic honesty and melodic sophistication; Robert Forster called it both a historical document and a living, breathing album. It reached number 41 on the UK album downloads chart.

Track listing

  1. Talkin' Like You (Two Tall Mountains)2:30
  2. Johnny's Brother2:47
  3. Roving Woman2:41
  4. Down This Road1:44
  5. The Clover Saloon2:12
  6. John Brady1:46
  7. We Lived Alone1:15
  8. Playboy of the Western World4:01
  9. Unknown (A Little Louder, Love)0:34
  10. One by One2:05
  11. Father Neptune2:06
  12. Man in the Sky4:04
  13. Empty Pocket Waltz1:59
  14. Honeybee1:34
  15. There Is a Vine1:35
  16. How Sad, How Lovely2:38
  17. Trouble1:19
  18. I Have Considered the Lillies3:42

Sources

  1. How Sad, How Lovely, Wikipedia
  2. Connie Converse: recordings, connieconverse.com
  3. Connie Converse: How Sad, How Lovely (2015 reissue), PopMatters (2015-05-11)