Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting Appalachian Sounds, February 12, 2000
I bought this album almost 25 years ago; it has stayed in my memory haunting and fresh ever since.To me, this is Roots music: the sound of folks from up and down the hollow sitting in the parlor on a Saturday evening, making music from the scrappy instruments they owned and the hard-scrabble lives they led. There are songs here of hard times, faith, love, sorrow. Some are bleak, some are optimistic, if skeptical. But there's not a song or a sound here that isn't rooted in the reality of life and living. Hazel and Alice complement each other beautifully. Hazel's voice is piercing; Alice's soothes. I can't think of any two better people to spend an evening with.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most haunting albums I've ever heard..., December 29, 2003
Hazel and Alice have given us a truly remarkable legacy with their three albums. This one, their second, stands out to me as remarkably pure and taut. The songs are touching, deep, and political- not in the typical confrontational way. It's a subltle, grass-roots politics with feminist undertones. The first song, "Mining Camp Blues" is a traditional mining ballad. The second speaks of the kindness of strangers. The song "The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia" is sublimely beautiful- a touching poem about the ravages of exploitation and "hard times" in West Virginia. The old primitive Baptist hymn "A Few More Years Shall Roll" is striking, bleak, and poignant. "Two Soldiers", also recorded by Bob Dylan, is no less than enchanting. "The Sweetest Gift a Mother's Smile" tells of a woman's love for her son in prison- a love that cannot be shaken by his misshaps. Two songs by Hazel Dickens- "My Better Years" and "Don't Put her Down You Helped Put Her There"- speak for women's issues. Alice's beautiful "Custom Made Woman Blues" also reiiterates the feminist undertones found throughout the album. Alice also penned "You Gave Me a Song", a wonderful old- timey tune. "Pretty Bird" is an acapella piece sung by Hazel. The theme is freedom- from oppression and injustice. The last piece, the instrumental "Gallop to Kansas", composed by Alice, ends the album with a beautiful and mysterious wisp. This is art, pure and simple. The timelessness of these pieces and the themes that resound in their words stand as a testament to the work and artistry so meticulously cultivated by these two artists. Cheers to Hazel and Alice!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
startling and beautiful, April 19, 2005
This is a fine CD. Hazel & Alice sing in lean and almost abrupt lines, peculiarly American, and their original songs are startling and beautiful. There's nothing outwardly prettified about the music - it's hard and strong and heartbreaking. But that directness frees ruminative sentiment to run deep through each song and allows these two artists to construct music that resonates meaningfully. Alice uses some unique banjo tunings, and their vocals practice the expected Appalachian flat tuning method with unexpected warmth and intimacy. 'A Few More years Shall Roll', taken from the Primitive Baptist Hymn Book, especially shows an unrivalled vocal mastery. This is the only Hazel and Alice disc I've heard, but would be inclined to try others.
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