Among the nominees at next month's Grammys for Best Historical Album is Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History of the World's Music (1907-1967). Released by archival label Dust-to-Digital as a digital download only, the album is a collection of 100 songs recorded around the world in the early days of recorded music. The liner notes in the accompanying digital booklet provide great context to the artists, locations and recordings, where each song gets its own short essay. The digital transfers beautifully capture the spirit of each song and the music, beyond being mere curios, is sublime. Excavated Shellac is the nom du blog of Jonathan Ward, an archivist who organized the project, researched and wrote the liner notes, and selected each song from his own personal collection of 78s.
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