Customer Reviews

Blue Trail of Sorrow : 16 Top Bluegrass Gems

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This is a great collection of contemporary Bluegrass/Americana musicians performing great traditional songs, but three of the best performances would not be recognized only from the track listings. The title song "Blue Trail of Sorrow" is given a performance so strong and vibrant you'd be sorrowful as well if you weren't also so exhilirated by the power of the performance. As listed, the song is performed by Alison Krauss and Union Station, but that is only half of the story. Dan Tyminski - Alison Krauss' right-hand man, singing voice of George Clooney in "O Brother" and all around good guy provides that hair-raising lead vocal on "Blue Trail". Dan ALSO gives an equally scintillating performance on the opening track "I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers". (Both of these are from AKUS' "So Long, So Wrong" Disc - HIGHLY recommented)The wonderful tune "Man of Constant Sorrow" made famous by Tyminski (singing for Clooney) in the movie is here from a recording from Banjo Wizard Tony Furtado, but the vocal is by the incomparable Tim O'Brien - on pretty much ANYONE's SHORT list of "best Bluegrass or Americana vocalists." (And anyone wanting to complete their "Man of Constant Sorrow" collections would do well to get Ralph Stanley's original version, Blue Highway's - with Shawn Lane's lead vocal, and "The Pizza Tapes" with David Grisman, Tony Rice and Jerry Garcia's lead vocal.)

So - the rest of the album is great too, but tip your hats to Tim O'Brien and Dan Tyminski.

To say that the this collection of bluegrass music from the Rounder stable of artists wouldn't exist were it not for the "O Brother" phenomenon would be to overstate the obvious. Not only does it feature some of the same artists (Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Norman Blake, the Cox Family), it also features two of the same songs: Lloyd Chandler's a capella "A conversation with Death" (retitled and reworked as "O Death" by Ralph Stanley on the "O Brother" soundtrack) and banjo whiz Tony Furtado and vocalist/madolin player extraordinaire Tim O'Brien's "Man of Constant Sorrow." Both of these versions are certainly the equal of the "O Brother" soundtrack recordings.

However, to mistake this collection as a mere knock-off in a crass attempt to sell a few albums would be a mistake. This is a thoroughly enjoyable anthology from start to finish. While most of the material has been pulled from the artists' nineties output, Hazel Dickens' mournful "Hills of Home" is from 1986, Norman Blake's "Bringing in the Georgia Mail" is from his 1972 debut, and the Stanley Brothers' "Meet Me in the Moonlight" is from a 1959 radio broadcast. Overall, this is a terrific overview of a handful of the numerous gifted artists on the Rounder label dedicated to carrying bluegrass into the 21st Century. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Rounder records gives us a glimpse of what Bluegrass was all about from the early beginnings with a new breed of musicians and entertainers, the likes you've never heard is on this latest compilation ~ "Blue Trail of Sorrow", sixteen charted Bluegrass gems from todays top-notch artists ~ Norman Blake, Lloyd Chandler, Cox Family, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Hazel Dickens, Freight Hoppers, Tony Furtado, John Hartford, Carol Elizabeth Jones, James King, Alison Krauss, Tim O'Brien, Dirk Powell, Stanley Brothers Dan Tyminski and Rhonda Vincent head this all-star extravaganza with shades of Bill Monroe, The Dillards, Flatt & Scruggs, Foggy Mountain Boys and John Fahey.

If anyone saw the film "O Brother Where Art Thou?", heard the music or the spin off album "Down From the Mountain", can relate to the close harmony of early Americana...just want to leave you with this tidbit...Rounder, we need a lot more of the same!

Total Time: 51:41 on 16 Tracks ~ Rounder 116-610-500-2 (2001)

This selection of Alison on the fiddle
surely surpasses all previous recordings.
I have listened to all her cd's except the
most recent one, and you made a very wise
decision to put this song on the cd
Best woman musician in America
in my opinion.
Sincerely,
Dianne Hudson / composer\musician

Since the release of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' It has opened up a can of old stew still vibrant and magical as it has been for decades in American tradition. Blue Trail of Sorrow on the Rounder label CD features all the burnished mountain soul of West Virginia native Hazel Dickens' "Hills of Home." The spirited, lowsome sound of Rhonda Vincent's "You Don't Love God, If You Don't Love Your Neighbor."

Legends like John Hartford grace the album. Who brought himself fame as the writer for "Gentle on my Mind" sung many times by Glenn Campbell on his one time TV shoe and hit album. Many other bluegrass greats like the Stanley Brothers and The Cox Family spiritual accompanied by Alison Krauss, "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven." The Irish American trubadour with his Appal-Irish flair Tim O'Brien with Tony Furtado does his rendition of "Man of Constant Sorrow." The Freight Hoppers sing the traditional oldie "Cotton Eyed Joe." A song popularized by the Swedish group the Rednecks on the pop charts in the early 1990's.

Plus a double header with the best loved of any contemporary and traditional bluegrass of Alison Krauss & Union Station with a cut from the title track. I also recommend the Roots Music: An American Journey album, an odyssey of traditional American music done in 68 tracks. If you like collecting vintage sounds in new formats I'd suggest giving the two a try and adding them to your collection of old-timey favorites.

This is a great bluegrass album, filled with great bluegrass tunes. If you enjoy this type of music, you will love this CD. Take it from a person born in bluegrass country.

We love this CD. It is a great collection and has numerous songs. Not a one is a lemon. We like it better than the soundtrack CD to the movie "O' Brother..." No regrets on this purchase.

More hillbilly chic. A number of popular musicians in the American Roots Revival genre turn in excellent performances on this wonderful companion CD to 'Down From the Mountain' and 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou?'
I like to put all three of those CDs in the tray and hit "random play" for a seamless collection of bluegrass gems.

Supper's on! Don't y'all be trackin no mud on the kitchen linoleum now, ya hear? ...Is there gas in the TransAm? Gotta run up to Riddlesburg for a half rack and some smokes afer supper, you boys wanna come?