T. Bone Burnett and Jack White have been taking on a HUGE project: document the "Big Bang" of music. The time (in the 1920s) when technology made it possible to record the music people all across the US were making. This is a multi-part project: they are interviewing people, tracking down rare recordings, creating education materials, there's a video documentary series, and there's a music component.

Somehow Jack White and Third Man Records were able to get their hands on one of the very few (possibly last) remaining recording systems of the 20s. It's this crazy, giant machine that records straight to vinyl. There's no chance to edit anything, oh, and you better be fast - the weight on the recording device will drop to the floor around three minutes. Jack White invited a few friends he knew could handle the challenge (Elton John, The Avett Brothers, Beck, Bettye LaVette, to name a few).

The track that really stood out to me was Alabama Shakes take on the 1946 hit song, "Killer Diller Blues." Brittany Howard's voice was made for this type of recording, she needs no enhancement or editing. Her powerful voice sounds right at home in the crackle and pop of 1920s technology.

Resources

Alabama Shakes - Official Site

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• Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard On Small-Town Life, Big-Time Music
• What Bands Do on Their Days Off, or How I Ended Up Going Fishing with Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard
• Album Review: Alabama Shakes, 'Sound & Color'
• Alabama Shakes, On Not Keeping Things Safe