Customer Reviews

Dirt on the Strings: The Instrumental Collection

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

 

 

This anthology certainly showcases the Dirt Band's instrumental prowess--especially banjo wizard John McEuen--but with eight of these tracks culled from the "must-own" albums UNCLE CHARLIE & HIS DOG TEDDY and WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, there seems little point to this collection. In addition, with barely thirty minutes of music on this disc, it's not much of a bargain. The four stars is for the music, but my advice is to buy the two previously mentioned albums and skip DIRT ON THE STRINGS.

If you're not careful, you might overlook Dirt On The Strings. This record features many of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's classic instrumental performances. Practically all the material was recorded in the '70s--the only exception was "Return To Dismal Swamp II", which appeared on NGDB's recent Will The Circle Be Unbroken 3 album. However, the songs sound as fresh now as they were when NGDB originally recorded them.

There are a lot of highlights here. Earl Scruggs' "Randy Lynn Rag", dedicated to Earl's son Randy and originally from the Dirt Band's Uncle Charlie album, has a "live" feel to it--as NGDB's John McEuen tells it, everybody in the studio was watching the band play the song on the last take, and it loosened him and his bandmates up. "Clinch Mountain Back Step", another song that was first on the Uncle Charlie record, is also a classic bluegrass tune. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", like "Randy Lynn" an Earl Scruggs classic, didn't make it onto NGDB's classic Will The Circle Be Unbroken album at first, although it was recorded in the Circle sessions. Fortunately, when the remastered 30th anniversary edition of Circle came out in '02, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was on the record--and it's on here. John McEuen created "Togary Mountain", also from the first Circle album, for Randy Scruggs' older brother Gary("so he wouldn't feel left out", according to John). "Soldier's Joy", another song from the original Circle album, is a banjo duet featuring Earl and John. On "Lonesome Fiddle Blues", still another gem from the original Circle album, the band is joined by legendary fiddler Vassar Clements. "Chicken Reel" and "Listen To The Mockingbird" are traditional folk songs, and NGDB's Jimmie Fadden does his "squawking chicken" sound on "Chicken Reel". "Clemente Opus 36" is a classical tune played by John on the banjo. "Jas'Moon", from NGDB's American Dream album of '79, doesn't quite fit on Dirt On The Strings, although it's well-done. Unlike the other songs from this record, which are all folk, bluegrass and classical tunes, "Jas'Moon" is a "fusion" of pop, jazz and bluegrass. NGDB had gotten away from their roots(bluegrass, folk-rock and country) when "Jas'Moon" was recorded. On Dirt On The Strings, it sounds out of place.

I haven't had Dirt On The Strings very long, and it's already one of my favorite NGDB albums. The Dirt Band's musicianship on this record, especially John McEuen's banjo picking, is excellent. Also, I think John's notes on how NGDB came to record the songs that are included here are fun to read. Don't pass up this collection--it includes some of NGDB's best music.