Come back, Woody Guthrie

I'm occasionally awed when I realize how much history can be held in one's hands.

You might get lucky and catch a momentous home run ball at your local major league park (and then get embroiled in litigation with the fans sitting next to you over who owns the ball). If you spend enough time trolling on eBay, you might find an original Hatch Show Print poster from Uncle Tupelo's final tour, the one that touted them as "St. Louis's 4th Best Country Band." Or, you can opt for the sure thing. That's what I did last weekend, when I plunked down 40 bucks (thank you, Borders coupon) for Woody Guthrie's "The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4."

Talk about big things coming in small packages. A container about the size of the one that holds a Quarter Pounder with cheese contains 105 recordings that created a ripple effect being felt 60 years later. And no saturated fats. Don't take my word for it; take a look in your record collection. If you're visiting this site, chances are you have bought one or more of these CDs in the past several months:

Alison Krauss and Union Station, "Lonely Runs Both Ways" -- AKUS cover "Pastures of Plenty," just one of Guthrie's songs about migrant workers. It's a very strong version, too, with a typically great vocal from Dan Tyminski.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, "Exploration" -- Sarah Lee didn't cover any of her grandfather's songs on this disc, but the talent didn't fall far from the tree. This disc, recorded with her husband Johnny Irion (a fine songwriter in his own right), is all but assured a spot in my top five this year.

Son Volt, "A Retrospective: 1995-2000" -- Included next to the work of modern Guthrie disciple Jay Farrar is a previously unreleased cover of Guthrie's "I've Got To Know." Also, the new Son Volt CD, which will be released on July 12, is titled "Okemah and the Melody of Riot." I'd be shocked if it wasn't a nod to Guthrie's childhood home in Oklahoma.

Those are just three examples from music released in the past six months. Guthrie's music has been recorded by hundreds of artists. He was the prime influence on Bob Dylan and, as we have seen again with the release of "Devils & Dust," a big influence on Bruce Springsteen as well. He's one of the giants of American music, especially in what we like to call alt-country and Americana. The Asch set documents Guthrie's versions of traditional tunes as well as his own compositions that became standards. The wife and I were fortunate enough to see Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the Ryman Auditorium last fall. It was telling that this quartet, with about a bajillion great songs to its credit, included Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" and a traditional song associated with him, "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad," in the set.

The Guthrie box is far from the only great deal on the market. British company JSP Records produces two five-disc Carter Family sets, "The Carter Family: 1927-1934" and "The Carter Family, Vol. II: 1935-1941," that retail for about $25 apiece. That's 256 songs -- virtually all of the Carter Family's studio recordings (minus alternate takes) -- for around 50 bucks. To break it down further, you could own the best of arguably the most influential group in country music history for just under 20 cents a song (sadly, I needed a calculator). Top that, iTunes.

As music fans, it helps us know where we're going if we know where we've been. For less than the cost of going to a big summer concert, you can buy the road map.