Classic Railroad Songs, Vol. 2: Mystery Train

Classic Railroad Songs (Rounder Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder Select
• ASIN: B0000002U3
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,987 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Casey Jones

2. Freight Train Boogie

3. City of New Orleans

4. Mystery Train

5. The Cannonball

6. Big Black Train

7. Red Ball to Natchez

8. Take the "A" Train

9. Waiting for a Train

10. Life's Railway to Heaven

11. Old Train

12. Bringing in the Georgia Mail

13. Train 45

14. Last Cannonball

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great songs, mostly in a traditional country style, October 5, 2002

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Classic Railroad Songs, Vol. 2: Mystery Train (Audio CD)

Rounder have released several excellent compilations of train songs, covering folk, blues, country and bluegrass styles, each including comprehensive liner notes from Norm Cohen, who wrote a book about trains songs (long out of print, unfortunately).

This particular collection is prefominately traditional country, though Sleepy LaBeef provides a rockabilly cover of Mystery train and there are a few bluegrass tracks too.

Johnny Cash (who has recorded many train songs) opens the set with Casey Jones, a song which (like other old songs, especially Frankie and Johnny) exists with different lyrics - if you have other Casey Jones songs, listen carefully and comapare.

Steve Goodman wrote City of New Orleans, and it's good to see his own recording of the song included here. I like Willie Nelson's version best, but that version is easy to find while Steve's is much rarer - and still worth hearing.

Patsy Cline sings a fine version of Life's railway to heaven (not really a train song, but who cares?).

The brilliant but obscure folk-country singer Mary McCaslin sings The Cannonball - a song she wrote herself about the passing of the steam age.

There are so many other great songs here, but I'll not waste your time going through them all - if you have any interest in train songs, just buy this and all the other Rounder train collections.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another solid collection from Rounder, July 12, 2000

By 

Andy Lester (McHenry, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Railroad Songs, Vol. 2: Mystery Train (Audio CD)

There's not a clunker on here, and it's good to see "City Of New Orleans", what Johnny Cash calls "the best damn train song ever written."

"Mystery Train" makes another appearance on Volume 3, but that's more than forgiveable. I wouldn't mind an entire album of "Mystery Train" versions, a la Rhino's "Louie Louie" album.