Customer Reviews

Swanee: The Music of Stephen Foster

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Interesting and pleasant arrangements of Stephen Foster's most popular songs in a string band/bluegrass style.

A great lineup of talent including Tim O'Brien, Joe Craven, Laurie Lewis, and Tony Trischka, to name a few.

I received this CD as a XMas gift, and I was already familiar with most of the songs. The performances and arrangements are terrific, and including both a vocal and an instrumental version of Angelina Baker was a great idea! The liner notes are wonderful, too!

...is how well his songs outlast their original era and context. That Stephen Foster was probably America's first important songwriter is inarguable. Yet it would be a mistake to _leave_ his songs there. This CD, to my mind, proves that his compositions have staying power. Bluegrass/folk treatments are a natural medium for Foster's songs, and the performances here are assured and approachable. Forget about "anachronism" as another reviewer put it. It would do Stephen Foster even more injustice to abandon his songs to the style of light opera or "parlor" music. They're better than that, and this disc proves it.

This CD brings back all the childhood memories that Foster's music invokes. It made me want to get up and dance when I listened to "Oh, Susanna" and "Camptown Races" and I felt the need to sing along with "Old Folks at Home." The artistry is as superb as we have come to expect from Joe Weed. I love this CD and enjoyed the historical information that is included.

This CD is an excellent collection of Stephen Foster songs lovingly performed by an interesting assortment of musicians. You'll hear some mighty fine lead and harmony vocals, and the playing's good too - there's lots of guitar, fiddle, bass, mandolin, harmonica, dobro, and a little banjo, piano, and cello.

There are the standards you've heard of: Oh Susanna, Camptown Races, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, and Beautiful Dreamer, plus others you may have forgotten about and need to get re-acquainted with - 16 tunes in all.

The liner notes are worth their weight in gold. Producer and musician Joe Weed gives us lots of details and tidbits on Foster's life and the writing of each song.

Three words: BUY THIS CD! You'll be humming along with the catchy tunes, and your toes will be tapping to the beat!

I was completely blown away by this CD. An admirer of Bluegrass music, I absolutely love the treatment here. But you don't necessarily have to like Bluegrass to appreciate the entertainment value of this album. The songs are wonderfully catchy -- "Glendy Burk," "Nelly Bly" -- or hauntingly beautiful -- "Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair," "Beautiful Dreamer." I have to believe that Foster would have enjoyed this interpretation of his music.

Given that Foster's original lyrics would often be found offensive today, the performers on this recording took broad license to change them. It mostly works. The arrangements are clean and skillful but I wouldn't call them inspired or brilliant. The great thing about this recording is its appeal to multiple generations. The songs are familiar to me and my 80 year old parents and my 5 year old won't stop playing it.

Although "Swanee: Music of Stephen Foster" produced by Joe Weed contains a good selection of songs, especially the most familiar ones, I would only recommend this album for those who are country music aficionados. There is little in the music that traditional Foster lovers would like. The arrangements do not match the historical context of Foster's songs.

i have a half-dozen discs of stephen foster songs, and this is by far the most enjoyable. these are modern acoustic versions that breathe new life into these old, old songs. I am glad this is not just another recital of his songs where an attempt is made to be true to the sound of the 19th century. that has been done and done and done to death. the modern folk form employeed here makes these songs fresh again. all throughout this is a beautiful cd. one of the cds i have listened to more often and with more enjoyment than 98% of the other cds i've heard in the last 5 years.

This CD is a real gem. The renditions of classic Stephen Foster material are made with excellent taste - which is not necessarily the case in so many updated versions of old classics. Joe Weed, as arranger, has finely understood to preserve the elegance of Foster's original songs, yet he has managed to bring freshness and brisk country music style to them - which suits the music just perfectly. As also the musicians are top notch, I can strongly recommend this CD to anybody who wants to hear the great American composer's classic songs played and sung with excellence. This disc really cheers me up!