Appalachian music reviews

There's bluegrass; the golden oldies that even those who don't THINK they know the music KNOW - and then there's bluegrass; the real, dirt poor, backwoods stuff. This is that stuff. Burnett & Rutherford are also among the BEST at what they do - but unless a person can actually identify with the songs, rather than just listening to some music - this particular CD would be a little too intensely hillbilly to be enjoyed.

There are a handful of songs on an old Rounder Records LP entitled RAMBLING RECKLESS HOBO that aren't on this CD. Also, there are one or two unissued tracks that are not on this CD, although there are a few. So be wary if you're a completeist...

I'm very dissapointed in DOCUMENT, for now I don't know how many songs I'm missing out on in other collections. They usually tell you if songs are missing, but the book says nothing.

This marvelous, and mostly sonically-sound, collection features late-1920s bluegrass tales of dying hobos, dying soldiers, suicidal lovers, murdered lovers, and "curley-headed" lovers, among other topics. Blind banjoist/guitarist Dick Burnett and his partner, fiddler Leonard Rutherford, are nothing less than superb, performing with spooky, almost psychic, concordance and casual, but utter, conviction. I won't bother to christen this material "authentic," since this is the stuff from which the concept springs. Highlights, in my book, are as follows: "Lost John," with a tune and a pattern of lyrics that cry out "Ida Red;" "Ramblin' Reckless Hobo," an assertive, perpetuum-mobile waltz that includes humanly-produced train effects and the lyrics, "My pocketbook is empty, and my heart is full of pain;" and "All Night Long Blues," whose lyrics are very much like Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor." And there is the Bob-Wills-style introduction to the rollicking "Ladies on the Steamboat," a number very much like Wilbur Sweatman's "Down Home Rag." And for those rock-history pundits who define rock and roll as country musicians playing the 12-bar blues, track the chord changes and count the bars in "Curley-Headed Woman." Finally, for those who believe bluegrass banjo was born just after the fall of Nazi Germany, "Going Around the World" (track 20) should provide an ample reality check, early-1929 style.

The sound quality throughout is mostly adequate to good, with a few tracks nearly obliterated by noise, but the music is fabulous. If you want "roots" music, this is it. A classy cover photo and an informative booklet, to boot. Buy, buy!

This version of Appalachian Spring is truly the original version. If you are looking for the true American spirit in Copland's music, by all means, buy this cd. Appalachian Spring is already such a simply beautiful piece of music, but when Copland conducts, you can really hear how Copland feels about the piece. I find the simple elegance of this piece inspiring, and this cd has helped me form a good idea of the style Copland would want for when I perform this piece with an orchestra.

I can appreciate the previous reviewer who felt that Henry Fonda's interpretation of the Lincoln Portrait was a bit bland. I respectfully disagree.

We know from research that Abraham Lincoln was a soft spoken man with a thin reedy voice. His delivery, it has been speculated, would have been firm but with a bit of a down home quality. I believe the late Henry Fonda has the best reading of this text. The versions by Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones and William Warfield are excellent but they all have a dramatic quality that is very unlike Lincoln the man.

I will agree that the mixing on the this recording could have been better, but I still prefer that restrained yet confident sound of Henry Fonda. To me it has the same quality as his "I'll be there" speech at the conclusion of The Grapes of Wrath.

Very moving.

If I had to choose one Copland album over all others in my collection, this would be the one!
When I purchased this cd many years ago, I hadn't realized at the time that this was the original, longer version of "Appalachian Spring" for chamber orchestra until I first played it, and it totally took me by surprise - what a revelation! It's become both my favorite version and recording of this piece.

The orchestration in "A Lincoln Portrait" is superb, and although the late Henry Fonda's reading does have a certain, peculiar quality to it, it's a vast improvement over the sound of the vinyl.

The "Billy the Kid" suite is absolutely thunderous and intensely psychotic, the BEST version ever recorded, IMHO, with the opening tympani beats guaranteed to shake your speakers and sub-woofers and the house along with it.

Even with digital recording and generally great sound quality, Dorati and the DSO produce lifeless performances of Copland's work, especially in the four suites from Rodeo. Dorati chooses a plodding tempo and the Detroit players seem to be just generally going through the motions. One can say the same about the rendition of the Dance Symphony, but better results are acheived in Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man, where the digital sound really adds extra sparkle. However, the best version I've ever heard is still Bernstein with the NYPO, where the adrenaline really lends itself to a fantanstic performance of both Appalachian Spring and Rodeo.

the start is allright, but then. Copland has produced some original melodies but also not original melodies. Music quality is great. Overall quality is okay.

As he had done with his recordings of Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite" and Gershwin's "Porgy And Bess Symphonic Picture", Antal Dorati and his Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in recordings made in the early 1980s, have distinguished themselves in the American classical music canon by taking on the works of America's most popular native composer, Aaron Copland.

Beginning with Copland's homage to the land below the Rio Grande, "El Salon Mexico", and continuing on with his lesser-known "Dance Symphony" (a ghoulish work taken from his never-staged 1920's ballet "Grohg"), Dorati and his orchestra then move to the stirring "Fanfare For The Common Man", then traverse the suites Copland extracted from his two ultra-popular ballets--"Rodeo" and "Appalachian Spring." All of these works are done excellently by an orchestra that has often been underrated.

I bought this 2-CD set because I needed a good selection of Copland pieces. It has served that purpose well. It features several less familiar pieces as well the popular Copland works. The CD contains Fanfare, Rodeo, Quiet City, El Salon Mexico and I Bought Me a Cat (to name just a few). The performance of Appalachian Spring (by Zubin Mehta and the LA Philharmonic Orchestra) is alright but not as good as the one where Copland himself conducts the Boston Symphony (check out that one on the RCA Victor Gold Seal Label -- it's marvelous). This CD does have a very beautiful performance of Portrait of Lincoln, narrated by Gregory Peck. He narrates with great dignity. I've heard at least one version where the Lincoln quotes are delivered in shouts as if from a pulpit. This one is more subtle.

This is a collection for the true Copland fan. Because you don't buy this one for the serviceable but undistinguished renditions of the famous pieces - Fanfare, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and El Salon Mexico. For those, look no further than Bernstein's seminal recordings with the NY Phil plus his second version of Appalachian Spring with the LA Phil, as well as Slatkin's with St. Louis. What a die-hard Copland-phile cannot live without, though, are the superb renditions of many of Copland's lesser-known but terrific compositions here that are rare or would otherwise take several purchases to cover: Mehta's Lincoln Portrait that is taut, brassy, dramatic and perfectly patriotic - with Gregory Peck fittingly authoritative and sounding close to what we would imagine when Abe Lincoln speaks; possibly the best version out there of Copland's underperformed masterpiece Quiet City from Marriner - just listen to the exquisite trumpet playing!; a charming Marilyn Horne singing excerpts from Old American Songs - poignantly evoking colonial Americana; Dorati's perceptive and atmospheric Dance Symphony; and a colorful Music for Movies from the London Sinfonietta playing highly American music with European flair. Furthermore, the Decca engineers provide demonstration-quality sound. Subtract one star for the casual Copland listener, but for the enthusiast: ****

Other references: Recommended by Gramophone, Penguin Guide and Classical Music: Third Ear.

The Fanfare for a Common Man could arguably be the best recording out there. Despite it's faster tempo, the LA Phil brass play it almost flawlessly(there are two notes of the entire song that the trumpets don't quite lock in). The trombones and percussion are phenomenol as well as the horns. The Appalachian Spring is done superbly also. The lesser known songs were a fresh introduction to less familiar Copland. The entire set(with the exception of the Lincoln portrait and Rodeo) is great. Definately recommended.

In this CD, you can find themes by legendary composers for legendary films. My favorite is "On golden pond"...

This is a very good sampler of contemporary American composers, weighted more towards those writing for the movie industry. The music is very relaxing, and is quite enjoyable to sit back and listen to. The tracks are generally quite recognizable. We purchased this initially as a gift for some French friends. But we enjoyed it so much, we ended up buying a copy for ourselves.

This CD surprised me when I first listened to it. It is among the most beautiful and peaceful music I have ever listened to. The song, "Dear Father", written by Neil Diamond for the movie, Johnathan Livingston Seagull, is my absolute favorite on the entire CD. All songs on this CD are beautiful and it is a very good value for the money. It's nice to be surprised by a CD now and then. This album is very soothing and is wonderful when you need to unwind and want to relax. Great to listen to before bedtime or as you are dropping off to sleep. I recommend this CD for all considering the fact that we live in very troubled times since the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the USA.

It's very difficult to put out a 4 CD history of Bluegrass music and leave as many gaps as does this compendium. There's some great music here, much of which isn't Bluegrass at all, but old-time Country Music (e.g. Gid Tanner, Uncle Dave Macon, Charlie Poole, etc). But Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, and Flatt & Scruggs account for 50+ cuts. There isn't a single inclusion by Reno & Smiley, The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, The Country Gentlemen, Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman and others, however. I gave the collection two stars because the purchase price was so low as to make it worthwhile for someone starting out a collection.

Hard to find a better deal than this one--over 100 vintage songs in a four-CD set (lasting about five hours) at a price that doesn't break the bank. The selection of songs is well conceived: a strong emphasis on the Monroe Brothers (a total of about an hour and a half, including the entire second disk, is devoted to them alone), along with well known songs by other classic bluegrass singers (such as Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Delmore Brothers), and a very interesting first disk containing string-band songs from the 1920's and 30's (including my personal favorite, Uncle Dave Macon's version of "Buddy Won't You Roll Down the Line," a traditional song about the Coal Creek Rebellion of 1891).

The sound quality, as mentioned in the other review, is surprisingly good; some of the oldest songs are a little grainy, but most are quite crisp. The booklet, on the other hand, is somewhat disappointing. The information is generally accurate (disregarding the typos--for example, it's "Bringing in the Georgia Mail," not "Georgia Mill"), but the notes are conceptually thin, with very little discussion of the music itself, and virtually no reference to the lyrics.

If you love bluegrass music--and it isn't for everyone--you can't miss with this set: all your favorites are here, as well as dozens of genuine old songs that you may not have heard before.

The 109 cuts in this box set document the evolution of bluegrass from its roots in early 20th-Century mountain string bands. Before the set ends in 1950, Bill Monroe, followed shortly thereafter by the Stanley Brothers and Flatt & Scruggs, has formalized a genre -- it had yet to be called "bluegrass" -- from which formula, more than half a century later, performers within the genre depart at their peril. The songs (and occasional instrumentals) are well chosen, and the sound quality is cleaner and sharper than one would expect from vintage recordings, some going back to the late 1920s.

Besides the old-time string bands, Bluegrass Bonanza highlights once-popular hillbilly-brother-duet groups such as the Monroe Brothers (of course) and the Delmore Brothers as well as neglected acts like the Armstrong Twins and the Bailey Brothers. One whole disc (#2) is devoted to the Monroes together and apart. Given how hard it is to find his solo work on CD, the Charlie Monroe sides are especially welcome. If you don't love his "Bringin' in the Georgia Mail" (which sounds like a traditional folk song, though written by Nashville producer and tunesmith Fred Rose, better known for his [later] association with Hank Williams), you might put a mirror to your mouth to see if you're still breathing. Though no bluegrasser, Grandpa Jones appears on #3 and #4, evidently in recognition of his role in keeping mountain music, without which there would be no bluegrass, alive on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Curly Fox's one cut, the traditional "Come Here, Son" (#3; actually, "Fire on the Mountain"), hints at what bluegrass might have sounded like if electric guitar had not been forbidden therein at any early stage. Disc #4, except for a single Molly O'Day side (the murder ballad "Poor Ellen Smith") and Grandpa Jones's standard "Old Rattler," is all early Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and Stanleys, the last sounding a bit tentative, their sound somewhere between the Delmores and Monroe, minus the blues influence. It would be a while before Ralph and Carter found their voice, but even here their devotion to the older Appalachian traditions is palpable.

Rather than pour on the superlatives and the flattering adjectives, just let me say that this box set does its subject proud. Whether you're new or old to country string-band music, you will want this collection. This is some of the best music ever made in America.

This is a well-performed collection of short orchestral pieces by American Composers. Highlights on the CD are the lesser-performed works such as William Schuman's "Newsreel in Five Shots", Roger Ruggeri's "If...Then", and Henry Cowell's "Saturday Night at the Firehouse." It would be great to hear some orchestras pay some of these neglected pieces more often.

This is a fine recording, a good collection, and a lot of fun. The one thing that disappointed me was that Copland's "Variations on a Shaker Melody" was extracted from "Appalachian Spring" for this collection. It is more effective in context of the whole piece. Maybe a better choice would have been something short and self-contained,like "Quiet City."

Definitely a worthy disc for your collection.

Lukas Foss and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra perform a number of well-known American music, such as Bernstein's Candide Overture and Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. But it also includes some rarer pieces, like Cowell's Saturday Night at the Firehouse, and Ives' Circus Band March.

I think that Rich Kienzle must have written his review based on the good faith that this set would include all of the Delmores' Bluebird and Decca sides. It does not. It's a good hefty collection of their pre-war material, but there are many important sides missing. The Columbia 1931 disc is not there, and most of the Decca sides are absent. Some Bluebird B-sides are also MIA.
This is rather shocking for JSP. They are usually so thorough in their reissue boxes. I'll grudgingly buy this, because I know the remastering will be good, but don't believe for one moment that you're getting the whole enchilada. If you're curious as to what these guys sound like, or like 'em and want 4 hrs of their music, go for it. But there's many sides left out. :( Maybe Bear Family will get off their arses and finally do the Delmores right.

I bought this set yesterday. For as old as these recordings are the way they were remastered sounds great. Again as I have stated in previous reviews this this set is "Great" but it's not for the new kid that thinks Country Music or Good Bluegrass is The Dixie Chicks or Toby Keith. These songs by Alton and Rabon are some of the Best Root Country Music that you can get anywhere. 1933 - 1941 ,That during the time that Jimmie Rodgers died and not many good strong groups were on the scene ( not counting the Original Carter Family). This Set is worth every penny and I think the price is downright cheap for what you are getting ! Purchase this Box Set and you will truly be Purchasing a part of real American History. "ENJOY"

Here's an interesting recording of Copland's "Appalachian Spring" - the original version for 13 instruments which sounds very folksy, very jazzy, and more "American", if that's possible, than the version for full orchestra that most listeners are accustomed to.

The "Sextet for String Quartet, Clarinet, and Piano" is Copland at his most "modern"-sounding and at times may not be to everyone's taste... don't expect to hear the Copland of "Billy the Kid" and "Rodeo" here. Still it is an interesting chamber work and certainly worth trying at this price.

"Quiet City" is another less frequently heard work and it receives a nice performance though here and there the trumpet is a bit harsh, though the English Horn and strings sound wonderful.

The "Two Pieces for String Orchestra" are nicely performed and worth exploring and while the scaled down version of "Hoe Down" from "Rodeo" lacks the BIG sound listeners are accustomed to, at times it comes across as very "authentic" sounding. (I'm not sure whether those "dubious tones" Joris refers to in his review are for effect or just a few moments of some sloppy technique... considering some of the fine string playing on this CD we'll give them the... uh... benefit of the doubt?)

The "Appalachian Spring" alone is worth the price, the "Sextet" and "Pieces for String Orchestra" are required hearing.., consider the unusual take on "Hoe Down" an off-beat bonus.

(PS - The London Festival Orchestra have recorded several other CDs under the direction of Ross Pople for the Arte Nova label - I recommend both the Grieg and Elgar discs of works for string ensembles.)

Though Aaron Copland is probably best known for his more accessible music (like his ballet scores Rodeo and Appalachian Spring), this CD presents, alongside selections from these pieces, some earlier and more intricate works of this great American composer. Of course, Appalachian Spring is very well known to many, though here it is performed in the original setting for thirteen instruments. For those who only know the full-orchestra version, this may present some surprising new sounds and it's certainly a nice diversion. Since Appalachian Spring is one of my favorite pieces, I enjoyed this greatly.

The second work on this CD is the Sextet for clarinet, piano and string quartet. In fact this piece is a transcription of Copland's second symphony (the "short symphony"). Due to the difficulties that this symphony presented to many professional orchestras (mainly the intricate rhythmical structure of the work), it was rarely played. Copland, to make this work accessible to the public, made this arrangement for a smaller ensemble. Characteristic for Copland's work in this period (the nineteenthirties), its idiom is much more difficult than works like Appalachian Spring. So, it may take some getting used to, although it's already extremely Copland-like (you can already hear traces of what later will become for example rodeo or Appalachian Spring). The first movement is a jumpy, dance-like Allegro vivace, much like the Hoe-down also on this CD. The second movement, Lento, is intense and quiet, much like the quieter moments in Appalachian Spring. Without pause, the Lento passes into the Finale, introduced by some sudden piano chords. This finale is a very rhythmic, fast, bur humorous piece. At the end, thematic material from the first movement is recapitulated. Though it is, as I said, no Appalachian Springs, I find this a great piece. It's very interesting to hear that a lot of elements of Copland's later works are already present here, albeit in a different form and stage of development.

Quiet City, for English Horn, Trumpet and Strings was written in 1941 (two years before Appalachian Spring). It's a dialogue between the two solo instruments with string accompaniment. Though it is a intimate work, focussing more on harmony than on rhythm, I find myself getting bored towards the end, it's quite a lot of the same really.

The two pieces for string orchestra are arrangements of the two pieces for string quartet that Copland wrote between 1923 and 1928. The Lento molto is a melodramatic piece with dense harmonical writing. It's a silently flowing piece with now and then some dramatic crescendo's. The second piece, a rondino, opens similar to the first movement of the sextet. Although it is not as complicated as the sextet, it's has the same character, albeit more lyrical (as can be expected with a string orchestra). But, even when there is more lyrical writing there is always the driving force of the opening rhythm, even pizzicato in the violins under a beautiful cello-melody.

The last work on this CD is the exuberant Hoe Down from Rodeo. This is Copland on his most humorous and most enthusiastic. The violins even produce some dubious tones in this semblance of a drunken feast.

I find this CD a very nice compilation of some of Copland's well-known and less well-known works, with very nice ensemble playing. It's definitely a CD that will never lose its charm.

For the price, this is pretty good. All in all, it's a solid performance, although I found some of the tempos a bit slow (esp. in Billy the Kid). Also, there were a few more blips and cracks than I might have expected. Although it costs more than twice as much, I recommend "Copland: The Populist" (with MTT and the San Fran. Symphony) over this title.

Copland derived the "Hoe-Down" sequence from a rendition of "Bonaparte's Retreat" performed by William Stepp. This may be heard on "A Treasury Library of Congress Field Recordings," Rounder #361500. Stepp transformed the dirge-like melody into a joyous dance, but rarely receives credit for his contribution. In the end, Copland got the same treatment; most people nowadays know "Hoe-Down" as the background music to the "Beef -- It's What's for Dinner" TV commercial.

This CD demonstrates great understanding and interpretation of Copland's music. I especially enjoyed the performance of Billy the Kid, although I did notice a couple very minor technical errors (i.e. slightest crack in the piccolo solo after the opening section). With that exception, the woodwinds were particularly impressive. Very effective tempo/style transitions in all the works presented. Definitely a good buy considering the low price: this music would cost at least twice as much, if not more, if performed by a "name-brand" orchestra. Frankly, though I disagreed with the conductor on a few points of interpretation, I don't see how it could be much better.