Here are links to two recent reviews of the Old Town School’s SONGBOOK cd’s Vol. 2 and 3:

L.A. Daily News:

LostAtSea.net:

The L.A. Daily News review was also picked up by these papers, total circulation appx. 600,000.

Whittier Daily News (Whittier CA)
San Gabriel Valley Trib (Covina CA)
Pasadena Star-News (Pasadena CA)
Press-Telegram (Long Beach CA)
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario Can)
Sun (San Bernadino CA)

Full text of each review follows:

L.A. Daily News:

OLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC SONGBOOK VOL. 2 & 3″ (Bloodshot). 4.5 STARS OUT OF 5.

This specially priced two-disc set, available Tuesday, continues the effort of Chicago’s venerable academy to record and reinterpret just about every song you could imagine singing around a campfire. And a few that you may not; each 21-song disc gets padded out with a questionably folky chestnut like “Shine On, Harvest Moon” or “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Nevertheless, this is a veritable treasure trove of blues, gospel, Stephen Foster, cowboy classics, sea chanteys, country favorites, work songs and other traditional staples. Recorded by an eclectic range of Americana acts and instructors from the school, a few cuts ring rather academic. But for the most part, these well-known songs are given refreshingly inventive and eccentric treatments. It’s a great deal. — Bob Strauss

LostAtSea.net:

Artist: Various Artists
Title: Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Volumes Two & Three
Label: Bloodshot

Rating: 9 out of 10

Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music is one of the city’s most
established and renowned music institutions, emphasizing tradition and
craft in a business obsessed with hyped acts. The school, which hosts
concerts, music classes for adults and children, and operates a music
store, is being honored on its 50th birthday by Bloodshot Records with
the release of Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Volumes Two and
Three . The first volume, a collection of 20 songs, was released in
October of 2006.

Like volume one, volumes two and three consist of folk songs performed
by established artists or teachers who work at the school. Paul Tyler,
a music scholar and fiddle teacher at Old Town, provides well-detailed
commentary in the linear notes, explaining the origin and significance
of each song. The songs in this collection are varied - some are
popular folk songs that have been covered by several famous musicians
(Donovan’s “Colours,” “South Australia,” “Wild Rover,” “When the
Saints Go Marchin’ In,” “Corrina, Corrina,” “Greensleeves,” and “Water
is Wide”). Others are lesser-known folk standards (at least to the
untrained ear) that are no less important.

When listening to the more familiar songs, it’s interesting to hear
how each musician handles the material, and Tyler’s notes provide good
background describing how the song has evolved. The rowdy Irish
standard “Wild Rover,” for example, was actually a broadside ballad
that also has been sung in Australia and the Canadian Maritimes,
according to Tyler’s notes. Compared to rowdy versions by The
Dubliners or Dropstick Murphys, Chicago folk rockers Sunnyside Up
treat it as a ballad with lovely results. With a slower tempo and
simple acoustic backdrop, the song is more sorrowful, especially
paired with female vocalist Erin Flynn.

“When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” - often associated with jazz music
and marching bands - actually started as a hymn, and the song is
treated delicately by Lost Bayou Ramblers.

Though a lot of people may not immediately recognize some of the
lesser-know songs, they can actually be more interesting to hear and
understand.

Chicago favorites The Zincs provide a notable version of “Simple
Gifts” (note the light percussion in the background); with
intertwining voices, Kelly Hogan and Scott Ligon provide a lovely
version of “Last Thing on My Mind;” Ted Parrish’s “(When Things Go
Wrong) It Hurts Me Too,” recalls the blues in folk music; The
Glowworms give soul to the groovy “Tell Old Bill”; and “Cindy,”
performed by Hump Night Thumpers, features one of the funniest lines
in the collection (”I wish I was an apple a-hangin’ on a tree and
every time my Cindy passed, she’d take a bite of me”).

In volume three, Chicago singer Nora O’Connor (who has sung with
Andrew Bird, among others) provides a beautiful version of “Home on
the Range.” O’Connor has one of those voices that sounds contemporary
but perfectly channels folk standards to make them sound fresh. Also
notable is “Hard and It’s Hard” performed by Catherine Hall and
Michael Miles’ version of “Shine On, Harvest Moon.”

At 42 songs (21 for each volume), the collection can be exhaustive to
get through, but it certainly gives you a strong introduction into the
dense history of folk music - all through the eyes of the Old Town
School of Folk Music.