Album Review: Woody Guthrie, Woody At Home, Vols. 1 & 2

A Complete Unknown did one thing besides showing us that Timothée Chalamet does a decent impression of Bob Dylan; it also led to renewed interest in folk singer Woody Guthrie. Woody At Home – a 22-track collection of songs recorded at home on Guthrie’s reel-to-reel – feels like a deliberate attempt to capitalise on the film’s success.

Recorded from 1951-52, the songs here are raw enough that you can hear doors opening and the singer’s children roaming the house. Listeners are treated to examples of how good Guthrie is when he’s at his straight-shooting best – including on working-man songs like ‘Pastures Of Plenty’ and the anti-fascist ‘I’ma Child Ta Fight’.

The highlight is ‘Deportee’, a 1948 folk ballad that’s been covered by Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell (no previous recording of Guthrie singing it exists). The song was written in response to a California plane crash that killed over two dozen migrant farm workers, and its message about the vilification of immigrants rings truer than ever in 2025 (“Some days I’m not legal, some days I’m not wanted”).

The rest of the album may reach the same lofty standard, but it’s a powerful reminder of Guthrie’s enduring legacy.

7/10