The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family

Dualtone – 80302-01162-2

Format: CD, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2004
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Worried Man Blues: George Jones (3:11)
02 No Depression In Heaven: Sheryl Crow (3:20)
03 On The Sea of Galilee: Emmylou Harris with the Peasall Sisters(3:16)
04 Engine One-Forty-Three: Johnny Cash (3:38)
05 Never Let The Devil Get the Upper Hand of You: Marty Stuart & Fabulous Superlatives (4:50)
06 Little Moses: Janette and Joe Carter (2:19)
07 Black Jack David: Norman and Nancy Blake with Tim O'Brien (2:57)
08 Bear Creek Blues: John Prine (4:23)
09 You Are My Flower: Willie Nelson (2:39)
10 Single Girl, Married Girl: Shawn Colvin with Earl Scruggs and Randy Scruggs (2:19)
11 Will My Mother Know Me There?: The Whites with Ricky Skaggs (3:04)
12 The Winding Stream: Rosanne Cash (4:31)
13 Rambling Boy: The Del McCoury Band (4:24)
14 Hold Fast To The Right: June Carter Cash (2:55)
15 Gold Watch And Chain: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Kris Kristofferson (4:06)
[Credits]
Producer: John Carter Cash
[Notes]
Country musicians, be they alternative, traditional, or neo-traditionalist, never tire of singing praises to the Carter Family. Heck, even the occasional rocker will say a few kind words about the Carter legacy. With this type of enthusiasm, there's never a bad time to put together a tribute album like The Unbroken Circle. The album is packed with VIPs like Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Sheryl Crow, and Willie Nelson, and it even includes no less than three Cashes (Johnny, June Carter, and Rosanne). Despite this impressive list, The Unbroken Circle gets a very rocky start with lukewarm efforts by Jones, Crow, Harris, and Johnny Cash. Jones and Cash sound fairly rough, and Harris' outing, backed by the Peasall Sisters, is underwhelming. Crow's appearance on a country record is somewhat surprising, and perhaps it was meant to add a little pizzazz to the disc. Unfortunately, she sings "No Depression in Heaven" as though she were auditioning for Freakwater. While the album never quite recovers from this early stumble, there are bright spots after those first four songs. Marty Stuart offers a truly superb version of "Never Let the Devil Get the Upper Hand of You," filled with creepy ambience and a fine vocal, while Janette and Joe Carter's take on "Little Moses" sounds more old-time than the Carter Family. There are solid offerings by Nelson, John Prine, and the Del McCoury Band before everything comes to a crash landing with the less polished contributions of June Carter Cash and Kris Kristofferson. While fans of the artists on this compilation may want to check it out, there are better Carter Family collections (Bristol by Ginny Hawker and Kay Justice and Songs of the Carter Family by Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin), and there's always the option of listening to the Carter Family themselves. -- AllMusic Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Tim O'Brien: Traveler

Howdy Skies Records – SUG-CD-3978

Format: CD, HDCD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Kelly Joe's Shoes (03:33)
02 I've Endured (03:29)
03 Turn the Page Again (03:43)
04 Let Love Take You Back Again (04:21)
05 Restless Spirit Wandering (05:03)
06 Another Day (04:20)
07 On the Outside Looking In (04:07)
08 Forty-Nine Keep on Talkin' (03:27)
09 Family History (04:29)
10 Fell into Her Deep Blue Eyes (05:05)
11 Travelers (04:39)
12 Less & Less (03:25)
[Credits]
Tim O'Brien (mandolin/guitar/bouzouki/vocals) Dirk Powell (accordion/banjo/bass) John Doyle (guitar/bouzouki) Ray Bonneville (harmonica/vocals) Jerry Douglas (dobro) Béla Fleck (banjo) Casey Driessen (fiddle) Kenny Malone (percussion) Dennis Crouch (bass) Edgar Meyer (bass) Darrell Scott (vocals) Jon Randall Stewart (vocals) Jonell Mosser (vocals)
[Notes]
Traveler arrives like some horseman from the dusty past. His news is blunt, if not apocalyptic, with warnings that the future promises only "rotting flesh and broken bone." His chaps are stained with blood shed during the Civil War, and the trail he's followed from then until now runs alongside the Mississippi before melting into "a road without end" that winds back toward where our memories began. O'Brien lays all this out with help from some impressive players, but even the often incendiary Béla Fleck joins with them in toning down the fireworks and creating evocative settings through the most minimal gestures -- a slow-motion guitar arpeggio, a keening fiddle, a note here or there to complement O'Brien's relaxed delivery. It's significant, perhaps, that the album opens with "Kelly Joe's Shoes," an ode to a pair of beat-up sneakers that gave O'Brien some pretty good mileage, and ends with "Less & Less," which celebrates the joys of moving through life with as little baggage as possible. From music through message, Traveler just about gets it right.-- AllMusic Review by Robert L. Doerschuk

Memories And Moments: Tim O'Brien And Darrell Scott

Full Skies Records

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2013
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Country
[Tracklist]
01 Time To Talk To Joseph (4:13)
02 It All Comes Down To Love (3:29)
03 Keep Your Dirty Lights On (3:26)
04 Brother Wind (5:00)
05 Memories And Moments (3:36)
06 Paradise (4:52)
07 Just One More (2:16)
08 Fiddler Jones (5:01)
09 The Well (3:23)
10 Alone And Forsaken (4:05)
11 You Don't Own Me (3:48)
12 Angel's Blue Eyes (3:31)
13 Free Again (4:30)
14 On Life's Other Side (4:01)
[Notes]
Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott have teamed up again for their first collaboration since Real Time (2000). And what good news that is, because their new album, Memories and Moments, oozes class. It is country/bluegrass/Americana – file it as you like – of the finest order, and the pair contribute five original songs. They also offer some stimulating covers, not least of Hank Williams's Alone and Forsaken. Scott (from Kentucky) and O'Brien (from West Virginia) are both skillful multi-instrumentalists and their voices and playing gel naturally, with nuance and feeling. The album sounds fresh – it was recorded in only three days – and includes the powerful environmental song Keep Your Dirty Lights On, the album's sole joint composition. To complement that track, they also offer a moving version of Paradise, John Prine's magnificent song about strip-mining ("the coal company come with the world's largest shovel") which features the peerless Prine on vocals and guitar. They also cover Just One More, the mournful drinking song by George Jones, who was himself an alcoholic.

Epilogue: A Tribute to John Duffey

Smithsonian Folkways CD SFW 40228

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2018
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Sad and Lonesome Day: Randy Waller and Lou Reid (2:36)
02 If That's the Way You Feel: Amanda Smith (3:20)
03 If I Were a Carpenter: Jonathan Edwards (2:44)
04 Lonesome River: Dudley Connell (2:56)
05 Sunrise: Sam Bush and Béla Fleck (3:22)
06 Going to the Races: James King (1:59)
07 Some Old Day: John Cowan (2:43)
08 Girl from the North Country: Steve Gulley (3:32)
09 He Was a Friend of Mine: Dudley Connell and John Cowan (3:08)
10 Poor Ellen Smith: Tim O'Brien (2:22)
11 Reason For Being: Fred Travers (3:16)
12 Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow: Don Rigsby (2:41)
13 Chim-Chim-Cher-Ee: Bruce Molsky (1:27)
14 Cold Wind a Blowin': Ronnie Bowman and Lou Reid (2:15)
15 Christmas Time Back Home: John Duffey Tribute All-Stars (3:13)
16 Bringing Mary Home: John Starling (3:48)
17 First Tear: Akira Otsuka (1:22)
[Crerdits]
Producers: Akira Otsuka and Ronnie Freeland, Annotation: Katy Daley, Dudley Connell and Jeff Place, Photographers: Charles Tompkins and Nobuharu Komoriya, Editor: Carla Borden, Engineers: Rick Watson, Bill Wolf, Greg Lukens, Brent Truitt and Phil Rosenthal
[Notes]
John Duffey's influence on bluegrass cannot be overstated. His contributions to legendary bands The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene helped transform the genre from a regional Appalachian music to a sophisticated, urban sound, resulting in a legion of new fans the world over. On Epilogue, the bluegrass music community comes together to create a marvelously fitting tribute to "the father of modern bluegrass." Sam Bush, John Cowan, Béla Fleck, Bruce Molsky, Tim O'Brien, Don Rigsby, and so many more—it’s a rare and special all-star cast. Their eagerness and passion to record the album attest to how profoundly Duffey impacted them and countless other musicians today. 46 minutes, 44-page booklet with extensive notes and photos.

Barbara Lamb: Fiddle Fatale

Sugar Hill Record SH-CD-3810

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Country Swing
[Tracklist]
01 Sally Goodin (3:36)
02 Panhandle Rag (4:29)
03 A Good Woman's Love (4:28)
04 Paddy On The Turnpike / Gone Again (3:41)
05 Montana Glide (4:17)
06 Herman's Hornpipe (3:20)
07 So What (4:02)
08 Foster's Reel (4:07)
09 Old French Reel (2:15)
10 I'll Never Be Free ( 3:45)
11 Katy Hill (2:56)
12 Princess Angeline Cafe (3:39)
13 Ducks On The Millpond (Ducks With Bongos) (3:59)
[Credits]
Barbara Lamb (fiddle/vocals) Tim O'Brien (bouzouki/mandolin/vocals) Jerry Douglas (dobro) Sam Bush (mandolin) Tony Trischka (banjo) David Keenan, Jo Miler and Scott Nygaard (guitar) Nova Devonie (accordion) Pete Wasner (piano) Nancy Katz, Ed Gately and Mark Winchester (bass) Joe Craven (percussion) Ben Holmes (drums)
Producer: Tim O'Brien, Engineers: Randy Best, Kevin Clock, Jay Follette, David Glasser and Michael Lord
[Notes]
This was fiddler Barbara Lamb's declaration of independence upon her departure from Ranch Romance, an (almost) all-woman retro country swing outfit that had recorded several very fine albums for the Sugar Hill label. Her former bandmates join her here on several tracks that could have easily been included on a Ranch Romance album, including a debonair rendition of the Texas swing classic "Panhandle Rag" and a charming Tex-Mex number titled "So What." Elsewhere on the program she returns to her bluegrass roots, accompanied by banjoist Tony Trischka, guitarist Scott Nygaard, and mandolinist Sam Bush, among others. The program opens with a burning performance of "Sally Goodin," and it also includes a great fiddle and banjo arrangement of "Katy Hill" and a cute fiddle-and-bongo arrangement of "Ducks on the Millpond." She also gets good and countrified in collaboration with Tim O'Brien on "A Good Woman's Love" and on a slow waltz entitled "Montana Glide." The variety works very well; this is an excellent album. (AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson)

Calling Me Home: Kathy Mattea

Sugar Hill Records SUG-CD-4085

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2012
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Bluegrass, Folk
[Tracklist]
01 A Far Cry (4:07)
02 Gone, Gonna Rise Again (3:20)
03 The Wood Thrush’s Song (3:47)
04 West Virginia Mine Disaster (4:29)
05 The Maple’s Lament (3:52)
06 Hello, My Name Is Coal (3:00)
07 Calling Me Home (2:30)
08 Black Waters (4:56)
09 West Virginia, My Home (4:26)
10 Agate Hill (3:47)
11 Now Is The Cool Of The Day (3:25)
12 Requiem For A Mountain (2:37)
[Credits]
Kathy Mattea (vocals) Stuart Duncan (banjo/zither/fiddle/mandolin) Byron House (bass) Randy Kohrs (dobro) Bryan Sutton (banjo/guitar/mandolin) Jon Randall Stewart, Bill Cooley and John Randall (guitar) Tim Lauer (accordion/percussion/organ) Jim Brock (percussion) Tim Eriksen, Sarah Dugas, Alison Krauss, Mollie O'Brien, Tim O'Brien, Patty Loveless, Emmylou Harris, Oliver Wood and Aoife O'Donovan (vocal harmony)
Producer and Recorder: Gary Paczosa, Liner Notes: Barbara Kingsolver, Photographer: David McClister, Designer: Carrie Smith, Engineers: Brandon Bell, Ellery Durgin, Garrett Sawyer, Don Cobb and Eric Conn
[Notes]
When Kathy Mattea made a hard roots turn on 2008's Coal, a heartfelt examination in classic mining songs of the hard, often dangerous life of coal miners, it sounded like she'd been singing them all her life. On Calling Me Home, Mattea delivers a second album of material that has its origins in coal country and/or her native rural West Virginia. With co-producer Gary Paczosa, she chose songs that drew their inspiration from coal-mining communities, and the juxtaposition of the natural environment and its devastation at the hands of an industry that is often the only one that provides a livelihood. These songs were penned by classic topical writers and modern performers. The band is top-flight: Stuart Duncan, Byron House, Bryan Sutton, Tim Lauer, Bill Cooley, and Jim Brock. Guest vocalists include Patty Loveless, Tim & Mollie O'Brien, Alison Krauss, and Emmylou Harris, to mention a few. Paczosa is well-known in acoustic music circles, from bluegrass and newgrass to modern folk, for his manner of capturing warm, pristine, immediate sound. The arrangements by Paczosa and Mattea never lose sight of the traditional -- even if the song is present-day -- while honoring the progressive talents of all the players involved. Atop it all, of course, is Mattea's voice: full, rich, soulful, evocative of both history and mystery. Her husky, smooth delivery and unique phrasing get these songs across with conviction. Its in the haunted backwoods gospel of Si Kahn's "Gone, Gonna Rise Again," a song rich in sociological and environmental metaphors. Catch her reading of Laurie Lewis' "The Wood Thrush's Song," with Aoife O'Donovan's harmony vocal, as Mattea digs deep inside the lyric while mandolins, guitars, accordion, and bass give her a podium. She doesn't need to soar above them; she merely has to assert the authority of the lyric to invite the listener in. This is equally true in the reportorial classic "West Virginia Mine Disaster" by Hazel Dickens. Contrast this with the desolate a cappella lament of Alice Gerrard's "Now Is the Cool of the Day," the nostalgia of Dickens' "West Virginia, My Home," or the depth of historical loss in Jean Ritchie's "Black Waters." The "blues" in bluegrass is resonant in Mattea's declamatory reading of Larry Cordle's dark-tinged, historically ambivalent "Hello, My Name Is Coal." Calling Me Home is not only a worthy follow-up to Coal, but it presents even the most historic of these songs as timeless and ever present. It's more confident, powerful, and beautiful. (AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek)

Cold Mountain: Collector's Edition

VWDS-3796

Format: DVD, Color, Dolby, DTS Stereo, Widescreen
Region: 2 - Japan, Europe, South Africa, Greenland and the Middle East
Country: Japan
DVD Released: September 15, 2004
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Neo-Classical
[Tracklist]
01 Wayfaring Stranger: Jack White (4:26)
02 Like A Songbird That Has Fallen: Reeltime Travelers (3:14)
03 I Wish My Baby Was Born: Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus & Tim O'Brien (3:09)
04 The Scarlet Tide: Alison Krauss (2:59)
05 The Cuckoo: Tim Eriksen & Riley Baugus (1:40)
06 Sittin' On Top Of The World: Jack White (3:48)
07 Am I Born To Die?: Tim Eriksen (2:33)
08 You Will Be My Ain True Love: Alison Krauss (2:32)
09 I'm Going Home: Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church (2:19)
10 Never Far Away: Jack White (3:40)
11 Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over: Jack White (3:17)
12 Ruby With The Eyes That Sparkle: Stuart Duncan & Dirk Powell (3:12)
13 Lady Margret: Cassie Franklin (3:02)
14 Great High Mountain: Jack White (4:33)
15 Anthem: Gabriel Yared (3:24)
16 Ada Plays: Gabriel Yared (3:18)
17 Ada And Inman: Gabriel Yared (5:03)
18 Love Theme: Gabriel Yared (3:40)
19 Idumea: Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church (3:18)
[Cast]
Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson
[Credits]
Directors: Anthony Minghella, Writers: Anthony Minghella, Charles Frazier, Producers: Albert Berger, Bob Osher, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Iain Smith

So Long Of A Journey: Hot Rize

Sugar Hill Records SUG-CD-3943

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2002
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Blue Night 2:28
02 Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (2:45)
03 Empty Pocket Blues (2:40)
04 Introductions (1:42)
05 Radio Boogie (2:36)
06 Just Like You (3:46)
07 Climbing Up A Mountain (3:41)
08 Walkin' The Dog (2:52)
09 Frank's Blues (2:49)
10 A Voice On The Wind (3:51)
11 Shadows In My Room (3:01)
12 Nellie Kane (3:01)
13 The Butcher's Dog (2:58)
14 Working On A Building (4:09)
15 Walk The Way The Wind Blows (3:42)
16 Foggy Mt. Breakdown (1:25)
17 High On A Mountain (3:18)
18 Colleen Malone (3:09)
19 Life's Too Short (3:30)
20 Won't You Come And Sing For Me (3:43)

[Credites]
Tim O'Brien (mandolin/fiddle/vocals) Nick Forster (bass/vocals) Pete Wernick (banjo/vocals) Charles Sawtelle (guitar/vocals)
Art Direction: William C. Matthews, Booking: Keith Case, Design: Rich Ikegami, Editer: Bob Burnham & David Glasser, Engineer: Kevin Clock, Mastered by: David Glasser, Photography: Steven Stone, Producer: Nick Forster & Pete Wernick
[Notes]
Recorded by Mike Grace and Mickey Houlihan, Boulder Theater, Boulder, Colorado, March 6 and 7, 1996.

Cold Mountain: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture

DMZ/Columbia/Sony Music CK-80843

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Bluegrass, Neo-Classical
[Tracklist]
01 Wayfaring Stranger: Jack White (4:26)
02 Like A Songbird That Has Fallen: Reeltime Travelers (3:14)
03 I Wish My Baby Was Born: Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus & Tim O'Brien (3:09)
04 The Scarlet Tide: Alison Krauss (2:59)
05 The Cuckoo: Tim Eriksen & Riley Baugus (1:40)
06 Sittin' On Top Of The World: Jack White (3:48)
07 Am I Born To Die?: Tim Eriksen (2:33)
08 You Will Be My Ain True Love: Alison Krauss (2:32)
09 I'm Going Home: Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church (2:19)
10 Never Far Away: Jack White (3:40)
11 Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over: Jack White (3:17)
12 Ruby With The Eyes That Sparkle: Stuart Duncan & Dirk Powell (3:12)
13 Lady Margret: Cassie Franklin (3:02)
14 Great High Mountain: Jack White (4:33)
15 Anthem: Gabriel Yared (3:24)
16 Ada Plays: Gabriel Yared (3:18)
17 Ada And Inman: Gabriel Yared (5:03)
18 Love Theme: Gabriel Yared (3:40)
19 Idumea: Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church (3:18)
[Credits]
Producer: T Bone Burnett

The Earls of Leicester

Rounder UPC-888072361416

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: United States
Released: 2014
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Big Black Train (2:49)
A2 Don't let your deal go down (2:12)
A3 I'll Go Stepping Too (2:59)
A4 Shuckin' the Corn (2:07)
A5 'Til the End of the World Rolls 'Round (2:36)
A6 Dig a Hole In the Meadow (2:21)
A7 Some Old Day (3:43)
B1 I Won't Be Hanging Around (2:11)
B2 I Don't Care Anymore (2:37)
B3 On My Mind (2:46)1.29
B4 You're Not a Drop in the Bucket (2:27)
B5 Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (3:14)
B6 The Wandering Boy (2:40)
B7 Who Will Sing For Me (2:32)
[Credits]
Jerry Douglas (dobro) Shawn Camp (guitar/vocals) Johnny Warren (fiddle/vocals) Charlie Cushman (banjo/guitar) Barry Bales (bass/vocals) Tim O'Brien (mandolin/vocals)
[Notes]
The Earls of Leicester is a bluegrass group assembled by Jerry Douglas to present the music of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and their band the Foggy Mountain Boys to a contemporary audience. This self-titled debut album earned a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2015.