Thirty-two Cents/Postage Due

Arlo Guthrie (Artist), The Dillards (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rising Son Records
• ASIN: B00250AREC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,710 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Over ten years ago Arlo Guthrie entered the studio in Branson, Missouri, to record a traditional album of his father Woody's most enduring songs. Woody Guthrie was feted in 1998 by the U.S. Postal Service, having a thirty-two cent postage stamp issued in his honor, and Arlo surmised the timing was ideal for his CD 32¢/Postage Due to be a celebration of that high distinction. Wanting to achieve the authentic sound and feel of Woody's music, Arlo looked to his longtime friends The Dillards. Possibly best known for their recurring roles on The Andy Griffith Show as The Darlin' Boys, The Dillards are undeniably extremely influential figures in popularizing blue grass music. "I thought it'd be the closest thing to the kind of music people actually play from that part of the world - Oklahoma is close enough to the Ozarks. I figured my dad would enjoy working with them for that reason," supposed Arlo. Included on this special collection of 13 tracks are Ship in the Sky (My Daddy), never before released by Arlo with his children adding additional vocals; the more obscure and poignant miners' elegy Ludlow Massacre; Grand Coulee Dam, a lively salute to an American wonder; and Tom Joad, Woody's ode to the Oklahoma dustbowl survivors' spirit and homage to Steinbeck. Arlo and The Dillards' sparkling renditions of Hard Travelin'. East Texas Red, Pastures of Plenty, The Sinking of the Reuben James, Sally Don't You Grieve, The Ranger's Command, Do Re Mi, So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh, and an instrumental version of This Land is Your Land round out this testament to Woody's cherished work. Originally titled 32¢, "Postage Due" was added since your letter won't even cross the street for that these days. 32¢/Postage Due was co-produced by Arlo Guthrie and Rodney Dillard. Recruiting Abe Guthrie for the final mix, the outcome is an honest and thoroughly enjoyable collection of some of Woody's best songs in the genuine tradition of Woody Guthrie as only Arlo could do.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this CD, June 19, 2011

By 

GeeWalter - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Thirty-two Cents/Postage Due (Audio CD)

I purchased this for my husband, and we both love this CD.

We've seen Arlo in concert and this CD evokes those memories every time.

I'd recommend this for Arlo's fans and for those who love folk music!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!!!!!, June 7, 2011

By 

Gary (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Thirty-two Cents/Postage Due (Audio CD)

This CD was supposed to come out in 2000 when it was recorded. The story goes that when Arlo reviewed the material he found that there were technical problems and all the recordings were unusable. He said the album would never be released. However, by 2008 technology had advanced to the point that the problems could be corrected and the album could be released.

I like Arlo Guthrie but I am a huge fan of The Dillards. This must have been a pretty quiet release because here it is 2011 and I just discovered it. This surprises me greatly for a couple reasons. The first, it is fantastic. It is essentially an album rooted in bluegrass so If you don't care for bluegrass you probably won't be crazy about it. However, if you like good Earthy acoustic music then it is exceptional in my opinion. The song choice is very cool, Arlo sounds great and The Dillards can't be beat which brings me to my second reason that I can't believe this album isn't a bigger deal. This, as far as I know, is the last recorded project that the original Dillards recorded. Since bassist Mitch Jayne passed away last year this will very likely be their final release. Not only that, but Doug Dillard is a phenomenal banjo player, and although he is a highly in demand session player he hardly seems to record these days.

The Dillards, for the newly acquainted are most widely known as the band that played the Darlins on The Andy Griffith show. However, there music and history goes much deeper than that with some of the earliest 'newgrass style music' and ties to The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Flying Burrito Brothers and many other country and rock bands.

What a treat to be able to hear a nearly lost recording of some old friends playing music that clearly means a lot to them.

1 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quality and Shipping, February 17, 2010

By 

A. Krochmalny - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thirty-two Cents/Postage Due (Audio CD)

The product was not shipped out within 24 hours and I did not receive it for Christmas. The quality of the product was excellent although it was listed as being shipped out within 24 hours "in time for Christmas."