Voices of past re-emerge.(Arts and Lifestyle) From: The Boston Herald | Date: February 27, 2004| Author: Gewertz, Daniel | COPYRIGHT 2004 Boston Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: DANIEL GEWERTZ

In 1959, Ed Lewis, a convict at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, chopped down a tree while singing "John Henry." The lonely, urgent, rhythmic singing was caught on tape by famed musicologist Alan Lomax, part of his lifetime project making field recordings of rural, regional music.

Lomax's recording must have come as a surprise to that convict 45 years ago, but nothing like the shock he would have felt hearing the new CD "Tangle Eye: ...