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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic live Dirt Band, March 14, 2002
I first got interested in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's music after one of my sisters got the original "Circle" album, which came out in '72. While I was in college in Greeley, Colorado, I became a real fan of these guys and even saw them in concert when they played on campus. I've remained an NGDB fan since, although I haven't been back to one of their shows, and in my music collection, I have quite a few Dirt Band records on LP, CD and tape. Though some of the Dirt Band's albums have been allowed to go out of print because of record companies' concern with the "bottom line"(at least in my opinion), there is still a lot of good NGDB music out there. Stars and Stripes Forever, originally put out as a double LP in 1974 and re-released a few years ago on CD, is a classic NGDB concert album.
The record starts out with one solid Cajun rocker, the Hank Williams classic "Jambalaya On The Bayou", and closes with another great Cajun tune, Doug Kershaw's "Diggy Liggy Lo". In between, the Dirt Band has over an hour of good-time, toe-tapping music and even a little humor thrown in at times--for example, Jeff Hanna's sometimes offbeat recitations "The Aluminum Record Award" and "It Came From The Fifties(Blast From The Past)", along with Jimmie Fadden's "Fish Song" and "GloCoat Blues", are funny, well-done numbers. Of course, the NGDB classic "Mr. Bojangles" is on here. Hanna is in fine form singing lead, and John McEuen's mandolin and Jimmy Ibbotson's accordion also stand out. "Mr. Bojangles" is one Dirt Band song that I think sounds better live than it does in the studio. Another early '70s Dirt Band hit, "House At Pooh Corner", is a funky tune with a fine guitar solo by Fadden. The Dirt Band also scored a modest hit in the late '60s with the mellow folk-rock tune "Buy For Me The Rain", which is included on this record.
The rest of this record's material is a fine mix of country, rock and bluegrass. There are many notable tunes, besides the ones I've already mentioned. Michael Martin Murphey's classic country rocker "Cosmic Cowboy" is a fun, danceable number. Another upbeat Hank Williams song, "Honky Tonkin'", features Fadden playing a great harmonica part in addition to singing lead. Buddy Holly's classic "Oh Boy", in the Dirt Band's hands, is more country-sounding than Buddy's original. McEuen and guest musicians Les Thompson(an ex-Dirt Band member), Jerry Mills(who played guitar and mandolin with Michael Martin Murphey), and Vassar Clements stand out on the traditional bluegrass numbers "Dixie Hoedown", "Cripple Creek" and "Teardrops In My Eyes". There are a couple of strong tunes by guest fiddler Clements, the swing song "The Sheik Of Araby" and the traditional folk song "Listen To The Mockingbird". "My True Story", like "Oh Boy", pays tribute to Fifties music. The well-known march "Stars And Stripes Forever" serves as the introduction to the classic Jimmy Driftwood song "Battle Of New Orleans". The Dirt Band's version of "Battle Of New Orleans" is yet another Cajun rocker with some great fiddle work by McEuen. McEuen also backs himself up on banjo while he recites "Mountain Whippoorwill(Or, How Hillbilly Jim Won The Great Fiddler's Prize)". That one, like "Fish Song" and "It Came From The Fifties", is a solid example of Dirt Band humor. McEuen plays several different instruments on here(guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin). When John left NGDB in '87, he left a void that the band hasn't been able to fill, although the guys had hit records into the '90s.
I'm glad I found this classic Dirt Band record. Stars and Stripes Forever is a fun, well-done live set that features the NGDB guys at their best. If you want a great Dirt Band album, I suggest that you check this one out. You might really enjoy it--I sure did.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
+ 1/2 stars...NGDB Emphasizes Their Country Roots, May 6, 2006
In 1970, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released their breakout album UNCLE CHARLIE which contained the band's first Top 10 single "Mr. Bojangles." Two years later they released the critically acclaimed WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN. So it was only natural that there would be a great deal of excitement when STARS & STRIPES FOREVER was released in 1974.
At first glance, it's a curious album comprised of live cuts from a March 1972 concert and two June 1973 concerts, along with a couple of interviews and eight studio recordings (tracks 8-12, 18-19 and 23) from a single January 14, 1974 session in Nashville. Of the studio recordings, the only band-penned song is "Glocoat Blues," a blues spoof written by Jimmie Fadden.
What this album did was to help solidify the band's reputation as a legitimate country band. They perform two Hank Williams classics ("Jambalaya" and "Honky Tonkin'"), as well as Jimmie Driftwood's "Battle of New Orleans" and Doug Kershaw's hit "Diggy Liggy Lo." They also take on traditional bluegrass with "Teardrops in My Eyes" and "Cripple Creek." To add further credibility to their country credentials, fiddle virtuoso Vassar Clements performs on all of the studio recordings except "My True Story.
The live tracks include electrifying versions of NGDB classics like "Mr. Bojangles," "Cosmic Cowboy," "House at Pooh Corner," "Buy for Me the Rain," and one of my all-time favorites, "Fish Song." Not everything, however, fits neatly into the country genre. There's John McEuen's solo reading of Stephen Vincent Benet's poem "The Mountain Whippoorwill," accompanying himself on banjo. They also do a foot-stomping version of Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy." Then there's Jeff Hanna's nearly 7-minute monologue, "It Came from the 50's." Their cover of the Jive Five's "My True Story" marks the last studio recording featuring founding member Les Thompson. [Thompson also appears on the 1972 live tracks (1, 3, 5, 6, 14, 16, 21 and 24).]
I saw the NGDB while I was in college a year before this album was released, but they performed many of the songs here. Listening to this album again (now that I've replaced my LP version with CD) brings back the memories of that concert from more than 30 years ago. Taken all together, this is one of the NGDB's most enjoyable and satisfying albums of their 40-year career. [Running Time - 73:14] VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Album, November 23, 2008
This is one of the best, overlooked, albums by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Well recorded live songs, interview with Vassar Clements & band members, and more.
A "must have" for NGDB fans, and anyone who liked their pre "American Dream" music.
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