Customer Reviews

Ain't No Grave: A Tribute To Traditional & Public Domain Songs

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The great English traditional singer Martin Carthy once remarked that the only harm you can do to the old ballads is not to sing them. In other words, don't worry about whether the presentation answers to some misguided -- and largely meaningless -- notion of "authenticity"; just do the song in a way that makes sense to you and works as musical art. The cover of this fine CD has an electric guitar propped up against a weathered gravestone, perfectly symbolizing what you're going to find here: except for the Scottish "McPherson's Lament," venerable American folk songs rocked up or otherwise modernized. Well, not entirely -- Tim Eriksen's aching "Southern Girl's Reply," a statement of Confederate defiance caught between hopeless anger and life-deadening sorrow, practically defines musical time travel.

Otherwise, these are richly reimagined adaptations, the worst of which are merely enjoyable and the best of which grab you by the throat and shake you. Among the latter, there is the wrenching Civil War-era "Is the Battle Over?" (Sixty Acres), almost like an outtake from the Byrds' classic country-folk album Sweethearts of the Rodeo. There's also the Plaster Saints' electrified spiritual "John the Revelator," which opens the proceedings. And then there's Timothy the Revelator, who does a nice "Box the Fox" in an updated old-timey arrangement. Listen to "Riding in the Buggy, Mary Jane," done here by the Lisa Marr Experiment, and then hunt up Bob Dylan's "Tryin' to Get to Heaven" (on his Time Out of Mind CD), and you'll find out where some of those lyrics come from. What is the tradition good for, after all, if not for looting?

Ain't No Grave proves that you can't bury these wonderful old songs. There's just too much life in them. It's a joy to hear young musicians carrying on the tradition with such intelligence, sensitivity, and imagination. By the way, this really ought to be four and a half stars, except that Amazon.com doesn't let you do that.

I could never have imagined in a million years that a compilation of old traditional and Public Domain songs could be so entertaining and catchy and modern sounding. This cd has fast become one of my all-time favourites. These songs have come alive once more for a new generation. It just goes to show that good songs never die. This is a cd that should be in everyone's collection.

I am a big fan of roots music. This album is a fantastic treat that consistently delivers great music, song after song. If you enjoy this album and are looking for some similar great roots albums then I recommend the following:
1) Appalachian Stomp: Bluegrass Classics
2) Avalon Blues by Mississippi John Hurt
3) March 16-20 by Uncle Tupelo
4) Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs Of Stephen Foster
5) Every Sound Below by Tim Eriksen

I first heard about this album because it is rated as one of the best albums of 2003 by a critic at RollingStone.com. Then I heard that the title track, "Ain't No Grave," by Kris Delmhorst is rated as one of the best songs of 2003 by a critic at NPR's All Songs Considered. Well that was enough praise for me, so I bought the disc. It was definitely worth it. For an album containing songs by various artists it is very consistent. I enjoy the album from start to finish. The songs vary in style, some of the styles on the record are folk-rock, americana, folk, blues, country, roots-rock and bluegrass. Despite the variety of styles, the album flows together beautifully. The singing is earnest and warm. These artists certainly respect the power these songs hold. My favourite track is "Southern Girl's Reply" by Tim Eriksen, who plays on the Cold Mountain Soundtrack and used to play in the band Cordelia's Dad.

I grew up listening to The Limeliters, so Folk Music is something I can relate to. One person I know did inform me that their brand of "Folk" was too "classied up for popular consumption" for his tastes. I SUSPECT (tho' no way to be sure), that AIN'T NO GRAVE might be more --ahem-- "authentic" for his sensibilities. Here, a group of modern "alternate country" (and other) bands carry on the tradition of breathing NEW LIFE into songs that, as Hal Levy once put it, "Nobody wrote it, nobody remembers it, and everybody sings it."

Good example: I first heard "John The Revelator" in the movie BLUES BROTHERS 2000 ! I first heard "Corine, Corinna" done by Lawrence Welk on his classic 1960 album CALCUTTA! --and have been wondering what the lyrics might be ever since. I believe "Rose Connelly" by Ware River Club was recently mentioned on a CMT documentary that focused on "songs about murder" in country music. I first heard it done by, of all people, Art Garfunkel, on his 1973 album ANGEL CLARE, as "Down In The Willow Garden" (and it's even MORE disturbing here). I think my favorite song on the disc is Mark Erelli's "The Drinking Gourd". (The word "gourd" always makes me think of the movie LIFE OF BRIAN-- how far back in history do some of these things go?)

Trying to think of something appropriate to reccomend with this, the one album that comes to my mind is John Fogerty's BLUE RIDGE RANGERS, which is a lot more country than folk, but also does its best delving into "the old classics".

I'm a big fan of this brand of music, but I'm afraid this CD is nothing to get excited about. Some of the covers here are okay, but most of them are weak. Sometimes is the musicianship, sometimes it's the poor production quality. Either way it just doesn't quite add up to a CD worth owning.

Make no mistake, the music on this cd is really great. Do some research online and you'll probably find more than I did, but I did find that Kris Delmhorst's version of Ain't No Grave is on the Signature Records sampler and Scott Murawski (from Max Creek)'s song with Mark McKay was played on David Gans' Grateful Dead Hour. You can find free downloads if you poke around online. The musicians here did respectable work, all of them, and I do recommend the cd. However, these compilations bug me because I know the artists don't get one dime for "donating" their songs. So I personally recommend buying THEIR OWN discs from the artists you like on this. Not that you shouldn't buy this cd (although maybe just burning a copy would be a perfect compromise to be able to hear the music), but these things are an injustice.