Customer Reviews

Classic Old-Time Music

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In this, the fourth of a series of collections culled from Smithsonian Folkways' massive archives, the focus is on the deep mountain music of masters famous and obscure, and the quality is uniformly high. Another plus is Jeff Place's excellent liner notes, which include informative annotations to each song or tune and performance. All told, this is the sort of thing that ought to make any devotee of Southern roots sounds very, very happy.

The performances come from both rural and revival artists, but the difference is academic, and the two meld into a seamless whole. Inevitably, a few songs are old, albeit never unwelcome, reliables, such as Dock Boggs's "Country Blues" and Clarence Ashley's "Little Sadie," but there are plenty of surprises, too. One has Maybelle Carter and Sara Carter Bayes reunited in the 1960s to do, interestingly, a song associated with the Delmore Brothers. The wonderful late-1960s LP -- never reissued in its entirety as a CD -- that Cousin Emmy recorded with the New Lost City Ramblers is tapped for an energetic, assured rendition of "Bowling Green" (also memorably sung elsewhere by the revivalist duo the Kossoy Sisters, and not to be confused with the Everly Brothers song of the same name). Roscoe Holcomb's "Trouble in Mind" is almost disorienting in its intensity, transforming a familiar song into something else entirely. There's Wade Ward's rocking banjo instrumental "Chilly Winds" (aka "Going Down This Road Feeling Bad") and Etta Baker and Cora Phillips's gorgeous banjo/guitar duet "Jaybird March." And there's everything else, too. If you're looking for mountain music at its peak, Smithsonian Folkways has -- as usual -- brought you there.

This CD contains a superb selection of old-time string music and vocals from an era that currently seems to be overlooked by the country-western crowd, and, to a certain extent,even the bluegrass affcionados. Some of the recordings in the mix are obviously dated and not the highest quality, but these are countered by crystal-clear performances by such greats as the New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Seeger, George Pegram, the Spare Change Boys, Mother Maybelle Carter and Doc Watson. This CD contains fiddle tunes, waltzes, cloggin' tunes, spirituals, instrumentals and vocals that are pure and totally acoustic. I love putting this CD in my truck, rolling down the windows, opening the moon roof, and cranking up the volume, drowning out the hip-hop coming from the hoopdies in the other lane. It's a fantastic selection.

Here's another excellent compilation of material that originally appeared on various Folkways albums recorded during the last four decades of the twentieth century, all featuring old-timey country string band performances. The Red Clay Ramblers, The New Lost City Ramblers, Slim and Kirk McGhee, Doc Watson, Mike Seeger, and Clarence Ashley are just a few of the artists on this CD, and fiddles, banjos, and guitars are the instruments of choice. Whether it's Wade Wards wonderful banjo picking on the solo CHILLY WINDS, Mike Seeger's fiddle on BONAPARTE'S RETREAT, or the jubilant singing of Eric Davidson with the Iron Mountain String Band on SUGAR HILL, the music is rich in tradition and delightful to hear. Roots music fans will certainly love this CD, but so will anyone who enjoys old-time music from the southern mountains played to perfection. A most infectious CD, well worth acquiring.

I came across this as a 'you might also like' for "O Brother, Where Art Thou"..a fantastic soundtrack you must get. This...is nothing like it. It's more like what Pa Ingalls played for Laura in Little House on the Prarie. Not to say that's bad, but it's not what you would expect. Be sure to listen to samples first, to know what you're getting.