Appalachian music reviews

This album is simply awesome. If you are looking for a sophisticatedly simple bluegrass and folk album, this is it. This features some of the most beautiful fiddle and guitar work. If you love country, bluegrass, folk, or are simply looking to expand your musical horizons, this one is for you. From almost silly ditties like Black Jack Davey and Hop High, to the sad and contemplative Perilous Journey, the bluesy Station Blues and Midnight on the Water, and the more modern hymn-likecuts from Allison Krause and Union Station, this covers the scope of Southern music. Also a good album for exposing to people who normally dislike country because all they have heard is on the radio. This is what it was meant to be.

Playing Time - 72:16 -- Twenty-two tracks of contemporary old-time music for the new generation sample a large variety of primarily Rounder Records artists from Putnam String County Band to Corey Harris, Mac Benford & the Woodshed All-Stars to Alison Krauss, Dirk Powell to Norman Blake, and many others. Cuts vary from the raw simplicity of a singer and banjo (Dirk Powell's "Hop High My Lulu Gal") to more intricate arrangements of full ensembles (Dry Branch Fire Squad's "Walking Back to Richmond"). Scott Alarik provides 4 pages of liner notes about old-time music, and he closes with a quote from Dirk Powell, "I think of traditional music as a bottomless well; the more you take from it, the more you give to it. It's a sustainable resource; that what's so powerful about it, and why more people are listening to it and playing it today...." Three additional pages provide paragraph descriptions about each of the featured artists who works range from recordings released between 1973-2004.

A sampler such as this is a great way to keep the music moving from generation to generation. The ongoing resurgence in old-time music continues strong and vibrant with releases like this one. Some standout tracks include Corey Harris's "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground," Alison Krauss and Union Station's "There is a Reason," Jones and Leva's "A Sweet Goodbye," and Dirk Powell and Riley Baugus' "When Sorrows Encompass Me Round." Corey Harris' "Station Blues" incorporates guitar, vocals, fife and drum. "Amazing Grace" is executed as an interesting harmonica duet by John Sebastian and Paul Butterfield. A few cuts, like Ron Block's "Your Heart Has Found a Home" is a beautifully-rendered contemporary song, but its arrangement comes off more like acoustic country music than old-time perhaps due to the incorporation of Jerry Douglas' lap steel in the mix.

Well-recorded contemporary old-time music from the last three decades will whet the appetite for more. Many of the themes in these songs are still relevant today. Ken Irwin and Rounder Records are to be commended for their efforts to reissue some excellent old-time music. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)