Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Harmonies and Good Memories Here!, February 4, 2004
This CD combines two excellent albums from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands' mid-80's work. "Long Hard Road", one of my favorites, starts things off nicely. This song has some heartfelt, memorable lines..."Mama played the guitar then and Daddy made the saw blade bend and raindrops played the tin roof like a drum." Great phrasing too. Another all time favorite that should have gotten some airplay is "Old Upright Piano". This one will bring a tear to your eye. If you enjoyed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in your younger days, pick up this nice bargin. It is sure to make you smile. The musicianship and great harmonies shine through, even on the less memorable tunes.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two great NGDB records on one CD, February 15, 2005
I have Plain Dirt Fashion and Partners, Brothers And Friends on LP. Now that these two classic Nitty Gritty Dirt Band records are available on one CD, I bought the CD version. This music is as great as it was in the mid-'80s, when NGDB originally recorded it.
"Long Hard Road", written by Rodney Crowell(the writer of NGDB's 1980 hit "An American Dream"), was the Dirt Band's first #1 country song, and it has always been one of my favorites. I especially like this line: "When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds/We lived our day to day in Plain Dirt Fashion." "Long Hard Road" by itself shows the Dirt Band's ability to pick a well-crafted song. The record's most fun moments, however, are provided by NGDB's Jimmy Ibbotson. Ibbotson's "High Horse", a driving, bouncy song, was a huge hit, as was his wisecracking celebration of the band's first 20 years, "Partners, Brothers And Friends". These two songs are also among my favorite NGDB songs. Still another excellent Ibbotson song is "Telluride", about life in the Colorado gold-mining town("Take the gold into Telluride"). Why "Telluride" didn't get radio airplay I'll never figure out. It's a great song--I think it's certainly up there with Ibbotson's "Ripplin' Waters"(from NGDB's album Dream) and NGDB's '70s classic hit "Mr. Bojangles". NGDB's rocking version of "Cadillac Ranch" is well done and in my opinion surpasses Bruce Springsteen's original. The reflective songs "Home Again In My Heart" and "Old Upright Piano", the romantic ballad "I Love Only You", the rodeo song "The Other Side Of The Hill", and Steve Goodman's humorous song "Video Tape"("If your life was on video tape/Wouldn't everything be alright") are also highlights.
In my opinion Plain Dirt Fashion and Partners, Brothers And Friends, when they came out, represented a welcome return by the Dirt Band to a more countrified sound. Ibbotson's return to the Dirt Band in '83, after a seven-year absence, helped the band bounce back from an ill-advised switch to a pop direction and reclaim their country roots. Not only is Ibbotson a great songwriter, but he's an excellent musician as well--note his mandolin picking on "Telluride", for example. To go on, Jeff Hanna's guitar playing is exceptional in a lot of places(for instance, on "Partners, Brothers And Friends" and "Cadillac Ranch"). There's also some solid piano work by Bob Carpenter(as usual), Jimmie Fadden does excellent harmonica playing, and John McEuen plays some unbelievable banjo and fiddle parts on several of the songs. If you don't already have Plain Dirt Fashion and Partners, Brothers And Friends on LP, they're now both available on one CD. By all means, get the CD version and listen to it. There is a lot of great music here.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 BEAUTIFUL albums on 1 CD - FINALLY, February 13, 2004
We finally get 2 great collections of work from the NGDB on one CD. About time. From the crystal clear notes of "Long Hard Road -(Sharecroppers Dream)" to the original "Partners Brothers and Friends," it is SO nice to finally hear these songs on CD. But quick, put the CD in and scan up to track #14. Does the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band get ANY better than they do on "Telluride?" I think not. Get this CD. Now.
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by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 
