The stories that Woody Guthrie tells of surviving the Dust Bowl on his first album feel as relevant today as they did in 1940. His compellingly real, almost journalistic accounts of violence on the bluegrass stomper "Vigilante Man" and desperation on the weighty "Dust Pneumonia Blues" bring the horrors of that turbulent era to life. The ironically jaunty tune of "I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore" deliberately clashes with lyrical references to police aggression, unchecked greed, and ruined families.