Country Music

Earlier recordings had simpler lyrics and redundant chords.They truly
made massive headway on this one.

I wore out several vinyl copies of this recording and will now wear out CD copies. I just saw NRPS on their current tour and hearing this live prompted me to buy the CD. I'm glad I did. While the first record is my favorite, this is a very close second.

Ok folks, here's one from the GREAT trilogy of country rock godliness consisting of this album as well as Carolina Dreams by Marshall Tucker Band and The first album by The Outlaws. I have loved this album since high school in 78 or so. The hippy dippy songs are cool but the pure country stuff is almost unmatched by anything. One of my nominees for greatest song of all time is You Shoulda Seen Me Runnin'...my god...how perfect this song is, and Buffy Saint Marie's backing vocals are the absolute nutz! This is desert island material.

The Dead, Skynard, Allman Bros. & Eagles mixed into a bowl and fired up! I bought this album solely for "Panama Red" but the entire album turned out to be very enjoyable. The sound of the album is unique but also reminiscent of other bands that were popular at the time of it's release (1973). Mostly, the lyrics are funny but occasionally become introspective. The "drug culture" and language that is present in the songs take you back to a seeminly simpler time, this one is definitely worth buying.

I first bought this album in 1975. Its amazing how after 30 yrs the songs still sound as good as they did way back then. Very good collection of tunes. Half the cd is country and the other half is rock. Total track time is around 30 minutes. Very good music.

Ok- so I dont buy much country music. Ive always liked Dolly's voice but I have never owned one of her albums. I have to say I am shocked how much I like this CD. Her version of Smokey Robinsons "Tracks of my Tears" is great. I think my favorite song on the album is "The Lonesomes". Her voice sounds great, and the material is very good also. Not alot of "TALENT" out there anymore. You will enjoy this if you are a true music lover. Havent stopped playing it since I got it.

I received this item in a timely fashion. I live in a remote area so shopping on Amazon is easy for me. I dont' have to drive a long way to get what I want.

Backwoods Barbie is a classic return to Dollys smokey mountain roots. Every song on this cd is layered with Dolly's undeniable style from the title track "Backwoods Barbie" to the smash hit "Get To Living". Dolly quickly wasted no time in mixing her witty humor in the song "Shinola", and injected Dolly flavor in the rock hit "Drives Me Crazy". There are many hidden treasures on this cd including "Cologne". Cologne takes you deep into the lonely heart of a adulterous woman, hiding her heart, emotions and affair by not wearing cologne. Dolly's reglious faith is again shown to us in the uplifting and down to earth song "Jesus & Gravity. This cd is a must for any fan wanting a true county cd and a must have for every Dolly Parton Fan. Weather you are a true follower or a fair-weathered fan you will love "Backwoods Barbie"

This is Dolly Parton's first true mainstream release in 17 years and also her first disc on her own label. All I can say is BRAVO !!! This set will definitely please her diehard fans and surely gain her some new ones. Her vocal performance here is top notch and she puts her heart and soul in each track. This is certainly not an artist resting on her laurels. It shows why she is the Queen of Country.

There are pure country tracks, some pop country and some remakes as well. The cd gets a great uplift with the life affirming, toe tapping tracks BETTER GET TO LIVIN and JESUS @ GRAVITY. Dolly is preaching to the masses with all her heart and true impassioned gusto. The gospel edge is awesome. Backwood Barbie is a sort of personal song about herself and who she really is. Her vocals here are like velvet and her delivery is filled with emotion. The same can be said for COLOGNE a tender ballad of the emotions of a man's mistress.

There are no misses here. The remakes - TRACKS OF MY TEARS and DRIVES ME CRAZY are given the Dolly touch to excellent results. Ballads MADE OF STONE and THE LONESOMES are also standout. Dolly has written most of the songs here. BACKWOODS BARBIE is from the musical 9 TO 5 which she has penned the soundtrack for. Dolly's innate talent shines through and this release is one of the best of her career. The eclectic mix works totally for a very satisfying experience.

Highly recommend this cd,

The cover art and title of the CD is enough to make me say "HELLO DOLLY"! I also love how straight forward she is and how much emotion she puts into her music and this CD did not disappoint!

I wish I could give this three and a half stars, because I just don't think it is a four star album. With that said, this is still a favorite in my collection! If you haven't gathered, the little willies are a "super group" of sorts who on this album are bringing us some of the favorite country songs we've grown up with in a new light. This album has a little bit of everything, western swing flavor on "Best of all possible Worlds", "I gotta get drunk" and of course "Roly Poly". Songs "Love Me" and "Night Life" have a decidedly blues-jazz influence. "Streets of Baltimore", "East as the Rain" and my personal favorite, "It's not you, it's me." Have more of a country flare but, by no means, are they decidedly country.

If your looking for a purely country album then this probably isn't for you, but I've found it to be a great spin weather your sitting on the front porch with your hound dog or in on your apartment balcony with your poodle in the city :)

Dan in Oklahoma -

This was a little unknown album with Norah Jones. It was a great album. The handling of the item was quick and service was outstanding. Highly recommend.

Not every track on this album "wows" me, but by and large it is a terrific album. If you like good song writing, this is must have. I think that I like Nora Jones best in this setting - collaborating with other artists. The lead guitar, the melodies and lyrics, and the tone of most of these songs are pure pleasure to listen to.

On iTunes this album comes with two excellent bonus tracks! You've got to hear them do "For the Good Times" and "What Time You Comin' Home"
These guys are great listening!

I felt compelled out of necessity to add my comment that this album's kick-off track - "Roly Poly" - is, without a doubt, a tip of the hat to the great Bob Wills, the subject of Merle Haggard's 1970 release, A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World. "Roly Poly" is track #9 on Merle's album, by the way. It is also worth noting that this style of music is known as Texas swing, not country & western. Norah Jones fans may or may not enjoy this record - it depends how open they are to other forms of pop music.

Yes, it might very well be. If not the best, it's among the top 5. I love this album and the DVD makes it that much better. It is not without small flaws with the all the Road-Eye monkeying around in between songs, and some of it is noisy but it is a literal take on a concert film - you see the entire concert as if you were there, delays and all. I just fast forward through those parts. This is Neil Young as his absolute best and that I pure genius.

This is one of best live recordings of Neil & Crazy Horse. The playlist is incredible because it only includes his early stuff since it was recorded in 1979. The Star Wars influenced production is over the top and detracts from the quality of the performance, but it is also part of the charm. If you are looking for Young at the top of his game and playing his best music, this is the DVD for you.

I watched this movie in Manila way back 1981 just before I left for Australia. I bought this DVD for the purpose of bringing back memories and it did. I will always remember that chapter of my life when I play this DVD. Thank you for having a DVD version of that movie. The Neil Young concert is brilliant. The DVD is in good quality. It is worth my while buying it.

Neil and the band at their rawest. Great set list. The video quality is lacking but seeing Neil live is still worth while. The copy I have was purchased new but sticks in several places which distracts from the pleasure of viewing this historical performance.

I remember when this concert movie came to theaters in the late summer of '79. It inspired me to start playing acoustic-electric guitar, which I still play to this day.

Great variety- these vocals help you learn all the words to The U.S.A.'s most important patriotic songs. Nicely composed, good selection, great for singing along- and you can actually understand the words they're singing.

I had to choose a song for a church drama presentation for Veterans Day. I listened a lot of songs and the version of "Your a Grand Ole Flag" was best suited for our purposes. I love patriotic songs so I wanted to keep the CD, so that was also a factor in choosing this one. It had all the songs I liked on it.

You know when we were listening to all those folkies like Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk and Joan Baez or starting to pick up on the Beatles or The Rolling Stones the American home grown blues was traveling to Europe to be appreciated by those audiences. Well, what goes around comes around. Here we have a `second' chance, thanks to these recently discovered archives rescued by German cinema, to see what we missed from the legends that were just winding down their careers.

So what do we have here? A sizzling T-Bone Walker. Sonny and Brownie. Memphis Slim, as always. Good solo performances by Roosevelt Sykes, a young Buddy Guy and "Big Joe" Turner. A nice section featuring the old country blues singers Skip James, Son House and Bukka White. A finale led by Helen Humes with an All-Star lineup including T-Bone, Willie Dixon, Jumping Jack and a host of others. For my money though the stealer of this show is Bukka White mentioned above. I might add that this is not the first time I have made mention of that fact, even against my favorites Son House and Howlin' Wolf. Bukka's long version of his classic "Cannonball" flipped me out. When he gets to flailing on that old National Steel guitar he "owns" it.


Those who follow the blues will be familiar with all the line up here. Practically every one of these performers has been reviewed by this writer elsewhere in this space (with the exception, I think, of Memphis Slim). So here you get them all under one roof while they are `hot'. For those who are unfamiliar with the performers or with classical acoustic and electric blues here's your primer. Get working.

I'v been avoiding writing a review about these dvd's (American Folk & blues festival vol 1, Vol 2, vol 3,) for a while now, mainly because I get so emotional when I think about them. So I wont even try. But I will say this much....The ONLY place in the world where you can see the fabulous T-Bone Walker on dvd... is on these sets (he appears on all 3 volumes). And where else are you gonna see Lonnie Johnson, Shakey Horton, Junior Wells, Big Joe Williams, Willie Dixon, Otis Span, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Mama Thorton, A very young Buddy Guy, and a very young Hubert Sumlin, Big Joe Turner, Son House, Koko Tayler, Lightnin Hopkins, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Howlin Wolf, AND MANY MORE!!! YOU NEED TO HAVE ALL 3 VOLUMES FOR YOUR COLLECTION!

If you like the blues you'll love this DVD. I especially liked the acoustic set with Skip James, Son House & Bukka White. The Black & White is cool and the sound is good.

buy all 3 volumes - if you are a blues fan, this is a rare look at many of the original artists in their early years.

I am new to the Blues. I've listened to many songs, from Delta Blues to Chicago Blues, and loved them all. After listening to so many songs, it is nice to put a face to the name. Not only that, but to see and feel the energy of real Bluesmen and women. I absolutely loved this DVD! I'd highly recommend it to anybody looking to start or continue a Blues DVD collection.

Great collection of the Flower Power movement. The beginning of Janis, Jimi, almost the end of Otis.

This is the ultimate version of the Monterey Pop festival concert. All usable film footage and sound are here on three DVDs. It's a very well done DVD set and the accompanying book is a great addition to the set. It has tons of info. and trivia. The films look and sound as good as they're ever going to and they have several extra bonus features on the DVDs.

My only complaint is that they didn't include any footage of the Grateful Dead except for a fleeting glance in a 'making of' documentary. The film maker, D.A. Pennebaker explains that 'the Dead' simply played too long for them to capture 1-2 songs. They are well known for playing 20-30+ minute tunes and the camera operators simply didn't have enough film in their cameras to capture a whole song, so they got left out. Each camera operator only had about 10 minutes of film per film cartridge to shoot with.

The filmmaker had a limited budget for film anyway, and we are lucky to see 2-3 tunes by some of the performers. The original plan was to get 1-2 'good tunes' from each band and have a 'good representation' of each group on film. That all basically went out the window when Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding played. The filmmaker and the festival producers had no idea that those 2 bands would be the highlight of the festival. Pennebaker and his crew 'blew their wad' film-wise on Hendrix and Otis Redding. That's why there is a bonus disc of the complete Hendrix and the Complete Otis Redding performances at Monterey Pop.

Like I said, the filmed footage looks and sounds as good as it's ever going to because they used the original 1967 film and sound sources that are available. It's in Dolby stereo, but not 5.1 or anything.

One goofy part of the DVD set is the inclusion of the footage of Tiny Tim performing at the back stage 'green room'. He is poorly lit, and the sound is sub-par. Pennebaker explains in the liner notes that Tiny Tim was in low light and they could only film him by the light of a Zippo lighter!

Over all, this set is worth owning.

I recommend it.

I have a confession to make. I did not know anything about the Monterey International Pop Festival nor about documentary made by the famous filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker until last Saturday when I turned on my TV and it was showing on MHD channel. Even more, I only caught the last 20 minutes of the film but what I saw and what I heard during the great finale simply mesmerized me. The last performance in the film belongs to Ravi Shankar, the legendary sitarist who along with Alla Rakha on tabla and Kamala at taboura plays 18 minutes long composition called "Raga Bhimpalasi." Along with The Who, Ravi Shankar was introduced to America at the Monterey festival. Eighteen minutes of Raga Bhimpalasi, the final scene of the Monterey Pop film, was an excerpt from Shankar's four-hour performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival his first public concert in front of a new generation of music fans.

What started as slow and exotic sensuality, built up into blissful frenzy duel between sitar and tabla. It is incredibly creative and intriguing how Pennebaker shot the Shankar's performance and made it as much a visual delight as it was a sound. For the first seven minutes, we only hear the sounds of music and see how the audience reacts on the unusual exciting Eastern chords and rhythms, we don't see the musicians. The director moves his camera from one young face in the audience to another, from different rows and different angles. Then, he slowly turns the camera toward the stage and moves it extremely close to Ravi and Alla, so close that we are able to see their faces and the hands, and you would think that Shankar has not two but six hands, just like the Indian God Shiva because it is impossible to believe that such multitude of sounds and emotions could be achieved with two hands only. In the last minute of Shankar's performance, the camera moves aside letting us see the musicians and the totally fascinated and conquered listeners that give the genius performer the long standing ovation, and he thanks them back. While witnessing the incredible act of music born and performed in front of me, I only wished this moment never end. After the scene (and the film) was over, the first thing I did was to find out what I saw and to order the DVD on-line. Only when doing research, I learned about the Monterey International Pop Festival that was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The celebrated Woodstock happened two years after Monterey, in August, 1969.

My Criterion "Monterey Pop" DVD arrived surprisingly fast, and I was able to enjoy all performances recorded by D.A. Pennebaker's team that used newly newly-developed portable 16mm color cameras equipped to record synchronized sound. Sound was captured by Wally Heider's mobile studio on state-of-the art eight-track tape. To see and to listen to the talented and famous musicians, many of whom were just in the beginning of their careers was an unforgettable and joyous experience. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, and Otis Redding, all became the celebrities after their first major public performances during the first and sadly the last Monterey International Rock Music Festival. Summer of Love started that weekend, forty one years ago at the small town of Monterey, CA, and that summer made Monterey immortal.

More than once I thought I wish I was there and could be a part of the magic festival. I know that the Monterey Pop will be one of my favorite DVD's and I will return to it over and over again.

By the price it should be obvious that this is a single DVD edition of the Monterey Pop Festival at $27.99, and not the 3 disc $70.00 edition as reviewed previously. Nonetheless, it is well worth the price for a 78 minute cross section of what happened in that "summer of love". If you want all 280 minutes of the festival, be sure you get that 3 DVD set. Its well worth it!

Where to start, where to start....Well, I see on the main menu a 'Artist Index', so I decided to check out the Electric Flag first. And man they were in full flight on this day! Ripping through "Drinkin Wine". Everyone in the group is just smilin' ear to ear-thrilled to be up on this stage in front of the festivals second day Saturday afternoon crowd. I have a new idol. He's the bass playing big papa bear cool cat with the cheshire cat grin, the shades and the bushy goatee-one Harvey Brooks. Just watchin' this cat during this song always makes me smile :) This clip gives you a taste of the super smooth blues guitar of Mike Bloomfield and the fresh off the soul circuit Buddy Miles in white shirt, tie and suit thumping his drum kit like nobody's business. great footage. Actually all of the footage contained on this disc is great. The color on all of this, on everything on this entire disc is deep and rich. There are many many shots of the people in the audience to give you a feel for the time and place. The next clip I studied was of the Blues Project unveiling a lengthy jam on "Flute Thing". This is sooo good. How is it this was not included in the original movie? I read Al Kooper saying when he was in the band, flutist Andy Kulberg had to have an amp just for that one song , and an echoplex, a foot pedal and fuzztone. That may explain the swirling, soaring adventure this song takes-all captured perfectly on this film. Next I watched "Driftin Blues" by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. I now know just what a great singer and harp player Paul was. Quicksilver Messerger Service perform "Dino's Song" although it is listed on the disc as "All I Ever Wanted To Do (Was Love You). I thought this was a really catchy pop type song that in my opinion should have been a bigger hit for them and they really perform it well in this clip. Which leads me to a comment about the frustration I would get after watching one of these great clips by the bands doing one of their songs...they're all so good you immediately want to hear MORE by the band! But with a few exceptions you only get the one song.
Now the footage of Laura Nyro actually is more than one song but her "Wedding Bell Blues" is captured just at the tale end of the song and even just that small portion is excellent. Short though it is but her next song "Poverty Train" is the complete performance and we have to thank the film makers for getting this on film. I do not believe there is a ton of film footage of Laura out there and this clip really shows what she had. Her vocal and delivery are breathtaking. I really enjoyed Country Joe and the Fish's "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine". This was one of my favorite songs of theirs and they do a superb rendition here. Love Joe's vocal and his cool style and stage presence. Also, a favorite camera angle of mine is used with this clip as it is used with the Flag and some others and that is a camera was perched atop one of the stage left balcony's roofs providing an excellent view of the whole band from overhead. Love those shots!
Ah, did I forget to mention The Association? Their "Along Comes Mary" kicks off this disc and it's a real treat! They start off with a funny bit introducing each member of the band and then really impress with a tight rocking version of this song. Damn I wish I was there. And alas, another example of only one song from this band. But it's not all like that for The Who and The Byrds do 3 songs each while The Mama's and The Pappas do a whopping 6 songs which another reviewer pointed out was the complete Sunday evening festival closing set. The Mama's and Papa's set really puts you in the mood of being there, that night. On their last song that night Mama Cass says to the crowd "You're on your own now kids", you almost get an eerie feeling of time and a final conclusion to the fabled summer of love.
But you can slip this disc in and re-live, or, experience for the first time the vibe in the air. Watching Janis Joplin as happy as pie to be up there on stage that Sunday afternoon singing "Combination of the Two" with her band or watching The Byrds during the Saturday night show sweetly harmonizing to "He Was a Friend Of Mine" and "Chimes of Freedom" and David just tearing into the vocal for "Hey Joe".....and, The Buffalo Springfield with Crosby filling in for the departed Neil Young singing "For What It's Worth"...it all really just has you begging for more.
Special mention to the clip of Simon and Garfunkle and their 2 songs on here-Homeward Bound and Sounds of Silence. Hearing them sing together, so locked into place, so crisp. And Paul's guitar playing-sharp as a tac.
There is a special backstage mini-concert of Tiny Tim entertaining the staff, performers and friends with just his trusty ukelele, 3 octave voice, mannerisms and archival knowledge of the songs of the 20's and 30's that a lot of other reviewers feel very dismissive of but in my opinion they can't see the talent for the weirdness.
Nonetheless, this outtakes disc is a wonderful wonderful artifact preserving a time and place and people that are long gone but are as alive as when your finger presses play.

I really liked "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road." I thought that Williams had an idiosyncratic, original country sound somewhat like Steve Earle, but without his macho. She also wrote some really nice lyrics on that one. At her best, Lucinda Williams has a real poetic touch to her writing, which can be very honest and personal.

But, I am sorry, after buying this album, I am not going to be buying any more of her music. On this album, she did two things that I just can not stand. First, she indulged herself in some cheap anti-American posturing. Nothing original about it; she was just showing that she is cool, because she sees how horrible America is. Second, she went in for a good deal of whining, both personal and political. Everything is horrible, America is hideous, life stinks, the world is unfair. Blah, blah, blah.

I am sorry, but this kind of music is just annoying. No originality, no new insights and (to top it off) if you turned off the lyrics and just listened to the music, it stunk too. Music to whine by. Yuck!!

I love, love, love the song "Righteously," but cannot listen to it because of that horrible, harsh guitar. It is at odds with the sweet, sexy feel of the song, Lucinda's vocals and the engaging lyrics. Sounds like a musician who is in a musical mid life crisis, selfishly playing heavy guitar licks because he misses his youth, not because it supports the song. Pettibone is a master guitar player, someone should reign him in so he adds to Lucinda's great work, rather than makes it unlistenable.

This woman is a poet of growing power, a singer of rare expressiveness, backed by a band that can find its way from a country slide to acid distortion in a few bars. Delicious reverb on some of the tracks, and I cannot resist a quote from one of her many beautifully broken-hearted songs: "I wanna see the ocean bend the edges of the sun..." Gorgeous! I have the 2004 Australasian Tour Version of this Album. Raw language here and there, and rightly so. I'm a guy, but this woman's heart speaks to me. The title song is an amazing piece of lyricism, a bending of grammar and meaning to the purposes of an anguished soul. Her words and rhythms echo in my brain for days after I've listened to her. Whether this lady has the range of genius possessed by Neil Young or Bob Dylan can be doubted but comparisons with those poetic giants are appropriate and deserved.

Yes, I'm a huge Lucinda Williams fan. This particular set of songs, however, grabs my heart and never lets go. Lucinda is an American treasure.

This, slightly reworded, is what one reviewer already wrote: "I am no musician, so I cannot criticize the production, or the writing, or the style or the lack of style. . .I just know what I like."

There! That is now the only standard I will use. I listen to a lot of music and now I will just ask myself:
Did I enjoy it? (maybe not even why) and,
Will I listen to it again ( and again. . .)?
I will no longer try and fail and hopelessly muck up things with--what(?) unnecessary information, tangential information--What are these reviews for anyway? To show off silliness? Or, simply, to recommend or to warn.

This is music I listen to again and again. Not every song works. (And some--"Righteously,","Atonement,", "Sweet Side," and "American Dream"--I'm tempted to program out). But those that do--particularly "World Without Tears"--move me a great deal. This CD--unlike many, many others--is in a small case which holds 50 CDs, not too far from my stereo.

This cd completes my Buffalo Springfield collection. It also was necessary for my 60's collection. Fits in rather nicely.

I bought this Album in 1968. It's one of my favorites.
Over the years I lost this precious album. Fogot about it. And now found it on Amazon, and now on CD. I love listenig to it on the way to work, or going home. Good singing hamonies and expert musicianship, never go out of style. Richie Fury, Steven Stills, Neil Young, Jim Messina, and Dewey
Martin, are great. It was there last and best." Thanks Guys!"
Greg Martinez

I found this album to be great. I just heard Steven Stills in Concert and had to get this album. Reminds me how much I enjoyed his music in my younger years!

Steve improves on everything, guitar, production, songwriting. Possibly His best performed and produced Springfield songs are here. Four days Gone, Pretty Girl Why, Special Care, Uno Mundo and The better than CSNY original version of Questions.

Buffalo Springfield by the time of this release had already broken up. Neil Young had already moved on and was already performing solo.
Stephen Stills and Neil Young as everyone already knows were the "Straw that stirred the drink.
Messina later would work with Kenny Loggins and Richie Furay with Poco
This album did not really have a major hit as the others, such as "For what it's worth, or Mr. Soul or Bluebird for example.
There were some very good songs though.
Four Days gone is a personal favorite of mine. Possibly one of Stephen Still's better songs.
Special Care is another great song by Stephen Stills. Questions would later be used as a part of "Carry On" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
I am a Child is probably the best contribution by Neil Young.
If you want to get to know Buffalo Springfield either this album or their greatest hits would be a great place to start.

S.T. 37 is perfect to use when you come home after shopping to rinse/gargle for germs. Use on burns and for sore throat.

Magnificent CD. Floyd is a master at the piano and plays these great classic country tunes like no other. This is one of those CD's that never get boring and is great to relax with. Highly recommended!

Floyd Cramer is the piano what Ace Cannon is to the Sax. All songs on this CD are great classics.

Floyd is above words, nothing to add to my other reviews.
The CD is very good, longer than usual which is not bad if you insert the shuffle and hear it as wonderful background music. Quality of the recording is good, all full STEREO.

Ciao,
Franco

Favorite Country HitsGive this 10 stars! Put it your CD player, kick back, relax and enjoy the best music. Floyd Cramer is a master at his work and his enjoyment of his work shows in every note. This would make an excellent gift for anyone who loves the best of the best music.