Customer Reviews

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Farther Along

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4 star:		(1)
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Having a lot of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band music in my collection, I decided to get the Farther Along DVD. This live performance features the five Dirt Band guys--Jeff Hanna, Jimmy Ibbotson, Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter, and John McEuen--along with a number of high-quality guest artists. The guest performers include Jimmy Martin, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, John Hiatt, Vassar Clements, Jerry Douglas, Earl Scruggs, the McCoury Band(Dale, Robbie and Ronnie), Rosanne Cash, Taj Mahal, and Iris DeMent. The cast of performers is stellar, and there are a lot of highlights.

The performance gets off to a rousing start. Jimmy Martin, a veteran bluegrass performer, has appeared on all of NGDB's Will The Circle Be Unbroken records, and his rendition of "My Walkin' Shoes"(from the Dirt Band's original Circle album) draws a lot of applause. From then on, things get even better. Alison Krauss' vocals shine on "Catfish John". The McCourys' "Love Please Come Home" is a traditional bluegrass tune. "Mama's Opry", sung by Iris DeMent, and "Oh Cumberland", with Matraca Berg(Mrs. Jeff Hanna) singing, are both tender ballads. John Hiatt and Rosanne Cash perform "One Step Over The Line", which they sang on the Dirt Band's second Circle album. Earl Scruggs does some awesome banjo picking on "Earl's Breakdown". On Earl's classic tune, Vassar Clements plays fiddle, Jerry Douglas plays dobro, and Randy Scruggs backs up his father on lead guitar. "All Prayed Up", sung by Vince Gill, and "I Find Jesus", with NGDB's Ibbotson singing lead, are solid gospel numbers. Blues artist Taj Mahal's "Fishin' Blues" is a bouncy, humorous number. The show-stealing performance, however, is "The Lowlands", featuring vocals and guitar work by Jaime Hanna and Jonathan McEuen--the sons, respectively, of NGDB members Jeff Hanna and John McEuen. Jaime and Jonathan, in my opinion, are every bit as talented as their fathers. The entire cast of performers joins NGDB on "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", which by now has become a Dirt Band classic. A major strength of this DVD is the Dirt Band's performance of music which emphasizes their bluegrass and straight country roots as opposed to their modern country songs which have brought them commercial success while still drawing from their traditional sound.

Besides the Dirt Band's live concert performance, the Farther Along DVD has some excellent bonus material. First off, the extras include three additional songs which were in NGDB's original live show: Earl Scruggs and John McEuen's banjo instrumental "Soldier's Joy", the McCourys' "Take Me In Your Lifeboat", and Rosanne Cash's "Wildwood Flower". Maybelle Carter sang the latter song on the Dirt Band's first Circle album, and Rosanne's version is nearly as good. The music video of "The Lowlands", which got some airplay on Great American Country, is also included here, and I think the video is well-done with some great scenery. Finally, Farther Along includes a documentary about the making of the third Circle album, featuring interviews with the members of the Dirt Band and the guest artists as well as behind-the-scenes studio footage. Those of you who like NGDB--or just like music in general--will enjoy this "up close and personal" look at the Dirt Band. It features a stellar concert performance as well as a backstage look at how things all came together.

Let's face it - through ups and downs, membership shifts, and stylistic meanderings, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has had more periods of excellence than any other American band. Few ensembles have more truly represented American music than the NGDB. This concert and the "making of" features exhibit clearly the respect the Dirt Band members have for American roots music, but also the respect they are given by contemporaries, legends and newcomers alike. The playing is excellent and the sound quality is amazing. Here's a chance to experience American roots music at an all-time high. Lot's of singer/songwriters today call themselves "American roots", but VERY few hit the level of quality and excitement the NGDB does. This DVD should serve as a primer for those wishing to know more about American roots music. Kudos to Jeff, Ibby, John, Bob and Jimmie for sticking with it and slowly but surely becoming the elder statesmen of Americana. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.

What can one say? This is a dream coming true for anybody interested in Bluegrass, Country Rock, Singer/Songwriter or any other type of acoustic music, and to those who grew up on the very first "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" project. The music speaks for itself: each and every performance is unique, and even artists who are genuine different in style are kept together perfectly by the sheer unlimited versatility of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Moreover, the presence of everyone onstage is captured brilliantly on film, and the musical interaction is well synchronised in pictures. A special highlight to my own taste are the arrangements of two traditional Gospel songs, "All Prayed Up" and "I Find Jesus", presented in Scruggs-style finger-picking on the guitar by John McEuen, otherwise best known for his banjo skills. These and the overall title "Farther Along" underline the spiritual quality within this music, as it is an expression of pure emotion. Add the superb live sound, and each possible superlative has been exhausted. A sad notion: Vassar Clements has passed away. If it wasn't for his recordings alone, this film will be his stairway to eternity.

This is an excellent concert dvd, 1st Class all the way. It's contains excellent roots music, and consists mainly of bluegrass.

The DVD is as follows:

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performs on every track, but most tracks contain collaborations with steller guest musicians as follows:

1.My Walkin' Shoes - with Jimmy Martin
2.Catfish John - Alison Krass, Jerry Douglas, Randy Scruggs
3.One Step Over the Line - John Hiatt, Rosanne Cash, Jerry Douglas
4.Roll the Stone Away
5.Love, Please Come Home - Del McCoury, Ronnie & Robbie McCoury
6.All Prayed Up - Vince Gill
7.Oh Cumberland - Matraca Berg
8.Fishin' Blues - Taj Mahal, Vasser Clements
9.The Lowlands - Jaime Hanna & Johnathan McEuen
10.Return to the Dismal Swamp II - Jerry Douglas
11.Earl's Breakdown - Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Vasser Clements, Jerry Douglas
12.I Find Jesus
13.Mama's Opry - Iris DeMent with Matraca Berg
14.Will the Circle Be Unbroken - All Musicians

The bonus material is excellent, you get some extra songs from the concert, including Rosanne Cash singing the Carter Family Classic, the "Wildwood Flower".
Plus, you get a video of "The Lowlands", and then plenty of behind the scenes material. This one is 1st Class all the way, and I highly recommend it. Thanks!!!!

I'm not a huge NGDB fan, although I enjoy hearing them. The picture and sound quality of this DVD is fantastic. The lineup of artists is first rate. Being a big fan of Iris Dement, I especially enjoyed her number. When I heard the NGDB guys introducing their sons, I said "Oh No", the nepotism downturn. But the young guys were equal to the rest of the lineup. The only negative is that it wasn't longer.

Hello everybody,
I am not from the US and I am not the typical country music fan, but I like - what I call - hand made music, where "natural" instruments are used and you can define a) the instruments and b) whether the guy playing it is capable in doing it.
For this the DVD is like paradise, really. I enjoyed it from start to end. There is hardly any weak song on this DVD and the musical capabilities of the Dirt Band and their very excellent guests are a real pleasure. Sometimes I would like to jump into the scene and contribute my (meagre) possible share in this music.
Once again, I love it, I love the song collection, all these plucked string instruments and good old Jimmy's harmonica, I love the melodies, many of them in the sing-along style.
Among the guest musicians my "string hero" Jerry Douglas on his dobros should get a special mention.
This DVD reflects a concert of shear joy in good music.
If you like something like that - why don't you join the club of these DVD owners .-)

A very good DVD. Well presented as all of Nitty Gritty is presented. T he extras are especially good and this is professional Bluegrass at it's best.

Short Review - This is a pleasure to watch and listen to. I knew these lads were great - just never knew how great. Great guests giving great performances. If you collect country music - collect this!

very good production, i have the 1st 3 on LP, CD & now this, enjoyed seeing
the people who made this one

Outstanding musicianship by some of the best in the business. Nicely photographed and edited, it's just too darn short. NGDBers are nearly ageless, except for Jon McKuen and that's just because his hair's all white.

A must have for fans of NGDB and American Roots music.