Customer Reviews

Pioneering Women of Bluegrass

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Hazel and Alice are legendary. The song The One I Love Is Gone alone is worth the price of the CD. It was written and given to them by Bill Monroe, who then taught them how to sing harmony in a minor key. Hazel's voice is one of the most truthful and powerful in bluegrass.

I bought the two records that these were made of when they came out in the 60s and 70s. I was lucky enough to hear Hazel and Alice a few times back then, and later in the 70s, separately. There is nothing else like it, particularly Hazel's voice, oh haze's voice.
I still have chills up my spine like my buddy from Ohio Tribe, from hearing Hazel sing the Coal Minter's blues at a school auditorium in Birmingham in 1979. There is something about most bluegrass today that is either too slick, to pyrotechnically technically proficient, and just too damned unaccessable to the average person.
This is living room music, a place where Hazel and Alice started playing together back in the early 1960s in the DC-Baltimore area/ There may be great professionals like Chubby wise who played with Billie Monroe and then left to work for Flat and Scruggs, but this is friendly picking music and signing closer in spirit to old timey music than to much of current bluegrass. Alice was then married to Mike Seeger who spent much of the 1950s recording old time blues and country pickers on their front porches and living rooms, and some of that is passed on here.
These records were also made when they and I were young and their is a streak of wildness in some of these tunes (Cowboy Jim, the most unuptown version of Take Me Back to Tulsa ever recorded) that seems to have melted away with age.
Al I can say is Hazel Dickens Hazel Dickens Alice Gerrad alice Gerrad they rule

Hazel Dickens sends shivers down my spine with her amazing "high lonesome" singing. Who ever came up with the nonsense notion that women can't do bluegrass? This has to be one of the top ten bluegrass collections ever. Hazel & Alice simply rock. Their version of "Long Black Veil" is THE standard against which all other versions of this song have to stand up against. Life is not the same after hearing this album.

Listening to this album will make anyone a convert to bluegrass. The range of sons is incredible, from rollicking upbeat tunes to mournful dirges. Hazel and Alice's voices blend together magnificently in harmony. This sounds so great that it is unbelievable that it was recorded on a minmal shoestring in the mid 1960s, in bare-bones conditions with borrowed old equipment, because it sounds so perfect.

If I had to recommend just one album to anyone, it would be this one.

Hazel Dickens has the most purely emotional singing voice I've ever heard, even better than Judy Garland or Edith Piaf. Her range can quickly go from utterly raw to softly sweet.

I have specified in my will that a song from this album be played at my memorial service.

Women have always been a part of Bluegrass music, but rarely in the limelight. Hazel Dickens, and Alice Gerrard are, in a way, Pioneering Women of Bluegrass for fronting a band. The album is a wonderful compilation of traditional music covering songs by the Carter Family, Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, as well as Hazel and Alice themselves. Their recordings done 1963-1964 have been restored, and released here on the Smithsonian Folkways label.

The album features many classics such as Darling Nellie, a story of a loved one who died without saying goodbye. In the song, fiery banjo plucking combined with slow violin help create an image of a turbulent thunderstorm, one perfect for telling ghost stories.

Another favorite is TB Blues a slow, old-timey song about a boy who dearly loved a girl, but the girl had "consumption", or tuberculosis. She died, so did the boy. The way the banjo plays (what is it called when you rapidly rub back and forth on a chord?) gives the song very lonesome feel. Alice and Hazel both sing in high voice lessening the stark reality of the lyrics.

For those who like traditional music, should have Alice and Hazel in their collection. rkchin.

I actually first heard about Hazel Dickens on Worldlink tv. They aired a documentary entitled "You can't tell the singer from the song" about her life and work. The "throatiness" of her voice was strangely enticing. Her voice is piercing and emotional- perfect for bluegrass. Well, I went to a music store and found this disc. I didn't know who Alice Gerard was either, but I am extremely happy to have found this treasure. The two women compliment each other perfectly. Hazel's voice is shrill and passionate, Alice's full of conviction, yet with soothing tones. Some of the highlights of the album are "TB Blues", "Who's that Knocking?", "Gabriel's Call", "Walkin' in my Sleep", "Long Black Veil", "I hear a Sweet Voice Calling", and "I Just got Wise". This album is a revelation. Buy it. I promise you will have no disappointments.

I used to have an old tape of these that a friend made from his LP's; I cannot believe it took me so long to replace it with a CD. What was I thinking?

Hazel Dickens is a national treasure. This is an absolutely wonderful CD and a must-have for anyone who even thinks they might like bluegrass. No prissy singing here: These women both have beautiful, strong, voices. The songs are great, the harmonies are great, the instrumentation is great (first-class accompanists and arrangements).

This isn't a great "women's bluegrass album", it's one of the great bluegrass albums, period.

This is a great bluegrass recording. It is raw and you can feel the emotion in the singing. I also really enjoyed the banjo playing on a number of the pieces. This recording is worth every penny spent.

To me, this music represents something essential about non-domesticated American spirit - honesty, sincerity and a strong, indestructible living core. Facing adversity with open eyes. This is an amazing CD.

The world needs more of what Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard offer here . . . honesty! There's a pathos-filled edge to their voices that absolutely makes me shiver. The lament of "The One I Love is Gone" cannot be put into words, it has to be experienced. And I do believe I enjoy their renditions of "Memories of Mother and Dad" and "Can't You Hear Me Calling?" even more than Bill Monroe's!

The sidemen---Lamar Grier (banjo), Chubby Wise and Billy Baker (fiddle), and David Grisman (mandolin)---all make a significant contribution to the authentic bluegrass sound of this album.

This one's a genuine treasure. Buy it . . . you won't be disappointed!