Twenty Years of Dirt: The Best of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: July 7, 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002L92
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,126 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Intro/Mr. Bojangles

2. Ripplin' Waters

3. American Dream

4. Make a Little Magic

5. Fire in the Sky

6. Dance Little Jean

7. Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)

8. High Horse

9. Modern Day Romance

10. Partners, Brothers and Friends

11. Stand a Little Rain

Editorial Reviews

Country rock at its finest! Eleven hits from the band's late '70s to mid '80s catalog, featuring Linda Ronstadt's vocal help on American Dream , plus Mr. Bojangles; Make a Little Magic; High Horse; Dance Little Jean; and more. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 10 Years of Dirt + "Mr. Bojangles", April 11, 2000

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twenty Years of Dirt: The Best of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Audio CD)

I've been a huge fan of the Dirt Band since I purchased their Uncle Charlie album in 1970--and I've bought every album since. Unfortunately, now that I'm looking to replace my old vinyl with CDs, I find that much of their catalog is out of print. In the case of their Eighties output, however, it's not a major tragedy. Much of what you'd want to hear from those albums is on this disc (and the companion disc, More Great Dirt).

Once you get past the fact that the first ten years of dirt are covered by only two songs (1970's "Mr. Bojangles" and 1975's "Ripplin' Waters"), this collection adequately covers the country radio-friendly tunes the Dirt Band recorded during their peak commercial years. [In fact, why didn't Warner Brothers simply focus on the Eighties? It would have made more sense than trying to promote this as a 20-year retrospective.]

Both "American Dream" and "Make a Little Magic" returned the Dirt Band to the pop charts for the first time in nearly a decade. They also shed any resemblance to being a bluegrass/country-rock band with the 1979 and 1980 albums those hits came from. With their follow-up album, Jealousy, in 1981 they continued to pursue a pop music course. "Fire in the Sky" from that album was about as far as you could stylistcally get from "Mr. Bonjangles." It wasn't until the return of long-time member Jimmy Ibbotson (who left after the classic Dream album) that the Dirt Band hit their stride again.

It was Ibbotson who wrote the joyous "Dance Little Jean," the energetic "High Horse" and the band biography "Partners Brothers & Friends," the latter with Jeff Hanna.

In 1984, Bob Carpenter joined the band on keyboards and vocals. His presence also added another songwriter. It's Carpenter's lovely ballad "Stand a Little Rain," released as a single and recorded specifically for this collection, that closes the set.

Unfortunately, this five-man lineup would record only two albums: Plain Dirt Fashion (1984) and Partners, Brothers and Friends (1985). After that album, founding member John McEuen would leave the band in 1986. [McEuen is a gifted banjo and fiddle player--as well as other stringed instruments--and his solo albums are worth seeking out.]

The Dirt Band would record two more albums in the Eighties: Workin' Band and Hold On. Songs from those albums along with tracks left off this collection can be found on the equally excellent More Great Dirt. These two "best ofs" offer an excellent overview of the Dirt Band's Eighties output. RECOMMENDED

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good News/Bad News, April 2, 2000

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twenty Years of Dirt: The Best of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Audio CD)

This CD is so much less than it could have been. 1986 marked the twentieth anniversary of the band and this is what we get? Eleven songs? Twenty years? What kind of career retrospective is that? I don't mind that there are no songs from their four albums prior to Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy (although the inclusion of "Buy for Me the Rain" would have seemed appropriate), but this collection contains only two songs ("Mr. Bojangles" and "Ripplin' Waters") from their first ten years--how skimpy is that?!!!

Essentially what this CD actually is, is a collection of their 1979-1985 country radio hits. And that's not altogether bad. I'm a huge NGDB fan and I own all the vinyl albums these songs came from. And except for the Uncle Charlie and the Dream albums, these songs represent most of what you'd want to own from this period of the Dirt Band's career. [An excellent overview of the Dirt Band's first ten years is the two-disc, 37-song Dirt, Silver & Gold reissued on One Way Records.]

My only complaint is the brevity and lack of scope of the song selection. There's nothing from their classic Will the Circle Be Unbroken album, and at only 45 minutes another six to eight songs could have easily been added. [The same could be said for the sequel: More Great Dirt, vol. II. It has only ten songs and 34 minutes. Again, great songs, but not much bang for your buck. In fact, these two discs would practically fit on a single disc.]

Bottom line? Five stars for the music, three stars for the skimpy song selection, minimal band history and photos. Maybe they'll get the job done right for the Dirt Band's Forty Years of Dirt Collection. RECOMMENDED

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Dirt From One Of The Best Groups Around, March 26, 2005

By 

K. Fontenot "Prairie Cajun Lives!" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twenty Years of Dirt: The Best of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Audio CD)

For all of the complaints about this disc(lack of early tunes, too country, too brief), folks seem to forget that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been around for a long time. Trying to pick the top hits from a band that has been consistently putting out great music is like trying to pick the best child in your family. It's impossible. Someone will get hurt because "their" song isn't included. Another person will cry because certain time periods or albums are focused on too much.

Anyway, take this album for what it is. It's a nice package of well known hits by a band that deserves the respect given to the top groups in country music. It doesn't include all of their greatest hits, but it has some great ones on it. Also, the price is great for such good songs.

Recommended to folks interested in learning more about NGDB who might have only heard songs like "Fishin' In The Dark" on the radio. It's not included here(but it is on their second greatest hits), but you will find "Mr. Bojangles," "Fire In The Sky," "Stand A Little Rain" and the brilliant "Dance Little Jean" and "High Horse."

If you think that too much of the album was focused on their hits of the eighties, buy their older stuff. If you find this album to be too country, go back to listening to Faith Hill and Mr. Faith Hill, I'm sure they're right up your alley. Leave the real country artists for the rest of us.

Thanks for reading my review. I highly recommend this disc.