Hamilton Ironworks

John Hartford | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 22, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder
• ASIN: B00005NNKU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,810 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Traditional Country
  • #28 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Traditional Folk
  • #41 in Music > Country > Classic Country > Old-Time Country

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hartford's last gift, December 30, 2001

By 

Jerome Clark (Canby, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hamilton Ironworks (Audio CD)

Given how 2001 turned out, I guess it must be said that John Hartford's passing was not the worst thing that happened, but it certainly was a long way from the best, either. If there's anything good to be said about the death of a musician and personality gloriously unlike anybody else's, it is that he left the world with one last great, fully realized musical statement, also gloriously unlike anybody else's. On it Hartford is playing mostly little-known fiddle tunes with old pal Bob Carlin and others, interjecting stories about where he heard them and who was doing them. The music is mesmerizing, the tales sad and funny and strange. In a tribute to Hartford in the liner notes to Down from the Mountain, the Coen brothers and T Bone Burnett write, "He walked away from TV stardom to go to the outskirts of Nashville to devote himself to fiddle playing and the study of American traditional music. It was not the usual career arc." Because of what he did, the rest of us have the gift of this magnificent recording. The beauty of Hamilton Ironworks feels boundless.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "rollicking & good natured Hartford takes you back", October 26, 2001

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hamilton Ironworks (Audio CD)

As a youth in St. Louis, Missouri, Hartford fell in love with riverboats and the mighty Mississippi River...was very much influenced by Earl Scruggs and Stringbean, this is when the five-string bango came into being...but his fiddling and telling of stories is the heart of who he is...nothing like him has come along since.

His style is hard to describe, not completely Bluegrass...but a mixture of traditional & progressive country, old-time-down-home early Americana and just plain good natured music, that everyone young and old can enjoy.

Hats off to ~ Bob Carlin (producer), Wes Lachot (recorder/mixer) and Rounder Records for this trip back to Hamilton Ironworks, preserving moments from one of the most original songwriters, string players and lyrical performers ever to grace this planet ~ JOHN HARTFORD!

You might try other John Hartford-Rounder releases, all worthy of a good listen ~ "The Speed of the Old Long Bow" (0438)..."Morning Bugle" (0356)..."Aereo-Plain" (0366)...please check out my reviews on amazon.com/music.

Total Time: 74:11 on 23 Tracks ~ Rounder Records 82161-0442-2 ~ (2001)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "OLD TIME" FIDDLE MUSIC DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER, October 19, 2001

By 

"harvard-fiddler" (boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hamilton Ironworks (Audio CD)

Sadly John Hartford left us this past summer at far too early an age. In the wake of this tragedy, however, the recording industry appears to have pumped a fresh supply of his greatest music onto the market. Some earlier work was a bit goofy, but not so this and several others. Any lover of the "old time" styles who wants to hear it at its best should buy this one. Oh heck, whatever you like in music, this one should please you.