Customer Reviews

Music From The Lost Provinces: Old-Time Stringbands From Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity 1927-1931

5 star:		(9)
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Sure, this CD probably isn't for everyone. If you like your music produced in such a way so that all the life, soul, and passion is drowned out in a slick, radio friendly sound, that makes it sound like everything else on the radio you need to steer very clear of this one. But if you like your music real, exciting, and full of life, snatch this one up pronto.

Far from being mere "musicology" (though given its age alone, I suppose, on one level it can exist as that) this is a reminder that often times the best music comes from seemingly "unlikely" places. Unlikely that is, for those who assume that only contemporary pop stars can offer talent. One listen to the rough, no holes barred, fiddling, the shaggy but captivating vocals will prove that the further away music gets from the current corporate run music industry, the more exciting it becomes. Fans of "O Brother" will want to check this one out and see where it came from.

It's pretty amazing, this late in the folkloric/historic reissues game, to find a whole album's worth of "undiscovered" old-timey music that is of such a high caliber. Old Hat Records, a tiny North Carolina indie label, packs its discs with some of the best music in the style that you're ever likely to hear. (You might also want to check out the "Violin, Sing For Me" and "Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow" CDs...) This disc concentrates its attention geographically, collecting old 78s from artists out of Ashe County, NC, one of those backwoods areas unusually rich in hillbilly talent. The best known of these artists was the team of Grayson & Whitter (who were favorites of Ralph Stanley), but there are plenty of other great Ashe County artists on here, with fab names like The Woodies, The Carolina Night Hawks and (my favorite) Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands. In addition to great sound quality and great material, both discs are also quite handsomely packaged; the insert booklets include some really cool archival photos, as well as extensive liner notes of the sort that have been woefully absent on similar recent reissue efforts.

This is one of the best old-time collections I've found. The featured instrument on most of the tracks is the fiddle (of which you'll hear many different "voices"), which is arranged with guitar, banjo and voice. The remastering was done quite well and the tracks HAVE been cleaned up. Purists need not worry though, as they managed to avoid that "watery" sound some of the worst collections out there have, and also managed to avoid flattness in the sound while keeping with the original mono feel. As for the liner notes, they're about as good as you can get. Three pages are devoted to discographical information, followed by ninteen pages of biographical and cultural information along with numberous photos.

This is one of, if no the best, old-time string band compilation I've ever heard. The fiddling is intense, frenetic....as if the fiddler's life depended on getting that riff down. All of the string bands featured on the compilation are tight, rollicking ensembles, ranging from the stellar Grayson & Whitter to the stellar Frank Blevins performances. One listen to Blevins' version of "Sally Ann" and you're hooked on old-time string bands for life. Includes a well-written set of liner notes describing the geographical and sociological milieu these performers came from.

This is Old Hat's first compilation and it is great!

This is the Holy Grail of Mountain Fiddle Music!

GB Grayson, the archetype of the Mountain Fiddler, lived near Mountain City and was one of the most influential fiddlers of the '20's, who, with his partner Henry Whitter, toured the coal fields of West Virginia, until Grayson was killed in a freak accident, falling from the running board of a car that he was hitching a ride on, on August 16, 1930.

But Frank Blevins is the real star on this recording. He is a fiddler more seminal than Uncle Pen, his fiddle wrapping you 'round in kudzu vines of primal melody...

Real "Tar Heel" rattlin'!

Excellent collection of old-time stringband music. You may not like every song on the album but it is a great assortment of many different styles of playing and singing. A "must have"
album for collectors and people that play old-time music.

OLD-TIME STRINGBANDS FROM ASHE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA & VICINITY, 1927-31 Wonderful Reissue of 78 RPM recordings featuring Carolina Nighthawks (Ashe), Grayson and Whitter(Va), Frank Blevins & His Tar Heel Rattlers (Horse Creek Band), Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands, others. Most tracks have not been released on other anthologies. A must for the old time music fan, the information booklet alone is worth the price! If you could find these orginal 78's they'd cost you hundreds of dollars.

EXCELLENT. It is must have. It is a collection of the good ole country music. It features many different artists both who made it big in those days like Emphriam Woodie to the lesser names like Vance' Mountain Ramblers. It is an excellent find

i like or love everything that i've heard from the folks at old hat. it is simply a marvelous label that specializes in old-time music releases. "music from the lost provinces" is another outstanding cd from them. twenty-two fine tracks from 1927-1931 presented with very good sound quality. a cornucopia of fiddlers and guitar-pickers and banjo players and hillbilly singers. this is a must for all fans of old-time rural music. magic from a bygone era.

This is the roots of string band music. Sometimes it is a bit unpolished. Sometimes the tunes are a bit aged. But there is lots of good stuff on this that- if you are interested in the genre and how it evolved- you would need this for your collection.