Browse by Catagory:
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Appalachian Stomp: Bluegrass Classics
Release Date: 1995-02-28
Sales rank: 3003
Appalachian Stomp is an ideal starter disc for those just beginning to explore bluegrass. Mostly this is because its 18 selections are so immediately accessible. The "classics" here, in other words, are usually those infrequent bluegrass cuts to have gained radio recognition beyond a core bluegrass audience. That explains why along with timeless standards such as Flatt & Scruggs' "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and the Osborne Brothers' "Rocky Top" we also get "Dueling Banjos" from the film Deliverance, a cut that is to classic bluegrass what Walter Murphy is to Beethoven. There are less immediately obvious choices too, though. If your previous exposure to bluegrass doesn't go beyond the Holy Trinity of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and the Stanley Brothers--for example, if you've never heard J.D. Crowe & the New South's stellar example of progressive bluegrass, "Old Home Place," or experienced Jimmy Martin lay down the law on his rousing "You Don't Know My Mind"--then you're in for a high-lonesome surprise. --David Cantwell |
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Unearthed (5CD)
Release Date: 2003-11-25
Sales rank: 3816
Not just your average box set of re-packaged music, 'Unearthed' is a 5 CD box containing 79 tracks from the American Recordings era. 'Unearthed' contains 4 entire discs of never-before-heard recordings. 'Unearthed' also contains 'My Mothers Hymn Book' a complete never released solo acoustic spiritual album. Deluxe packaging includes 104 page hard cover book, never before seen photo's and Johnny's personal comments, thoughts and memories about every song on the box. Lost Highway. 2003.Over the course of five mesmerizing CDs, Unearthed shows us just how Johnny Cash's now-legendary handful of recordings for American Records came to be. Four discs feature previously unreleased tracks from the famed Rick Rubin-produced sessions. Through their inconsistencies and quirks (and, more often than not, brilliance), they shed light on how Cash's final records were shaped, edited, and produced. Here we get some creative pairings: Fiona Apple providing guest vocals on Cat Stevens' "Father & Son," and the late Joe Strummer duetting with Cash on Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." Neither are the definitive statements that some of Cash's covers from this period are (his glorious takes on Nick Lowe and Danzig, to name just two), but they're still very much worth hearing. Most riveting are the numerous traditional numbers, the songs that were clearly closest to the Man in Black's heart. "Banks of the Ohio," Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Chunk of Coal," Stephen Foster's "Hard Times," and the entire disc of previously unreleased gospel tunes are powerful statements, tunes where you feel privileged to hear Cash--despite declining health and failing voice--sing one more time, the way he wanted. The last disc of this monumental set is a "best-of" compilation of tracks that did make it on the American individual discs, a reminder of just how groundbreaking these sessions were. Perhaps the biggest highlight in this awe-inspiring set is its vast liner notes, a loving collection of essays and recollections that highlight the history and stories behind this eclectic array of songs. --Jason Verlinde |
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Dona Got a Ramblin Mind
Release Date: 2007-06-26
Sales rank: 5458
AS HEARD ON NPR! "Even though the music's being played right in front of you, you expect to hear crackles and hisses as if the sounds were being torn from a salvaged 78." - Independent Weekly Terrific renditions of old-time classics from the Carolina Chocolate Drops as they reclaim their African American NC Piedmont string band musical traditions! This young group is the hottest thing to hit the old-time music community in decades, and have grabbed the attention of folks like Taj Mahal, Mike Seeger, Alice Gerrard, and John Sebastian. |
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Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith)
Release Date: 1997-08-19
Sales rank: 2137
This deluxe 6-CD collector's boxed set contains a 96-page book featuring Harry Smith's original songbook framed by essays by Greil Marcus and other noted writers, musicians, and scholars. Play the enhanced sixth disc on your CD-ROM drive and access historic video footage, rare photos, artist interviews, and additional background information. Edited by Harry Smith. Reissue compiled by the staff of Smithsonian Folkways. Reissue liner notes by Greil Marcus, Neil Rosenberg, Jeff Place, Jon Pankake, Luis Kemnitzer and others. "...the missing link in rock's official history." -Newsweek ***** (five stars) -Rolling StoneThis impressive--and frankly, fun--musical document is still sending out shock waves almost 50 years after its original 1952 vinyl release. The Smithsonian's six-CD reissue is painstakingly researched, annotated, and packaged (even boasting an enhanced disc for the techno-capable). Unlike field recorders, eccentric filmmaker/collector/musicologist Harry Smith assembled the Anthology from commercially released (though obscure) 78 rpm discs issued between 1927 and 1935. Its broad scope--from country blues to Cajun social music to Appalachian murder ballads--was monumentally influential, setting musicians like Bob Dylan down the path to folk fandom. The White House started its own national music library with the Anthology; anyone with more than a passing interest in American roots music should do the same. --Michael Ruby More from Smithsonian Folkways
The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk Music | 
Classic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings | 
Smithsonian Folkways American Roots Collection | 
Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways | 
Classic Blues From Smithsonian Folkways | 
Folkways: The Original Vision | |
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Will The Circle Be Unbroken - The Trilogy
Release Date: 2003-09-30
Sales rank: 13412
The original Will the Circle Be Unbroken is undoubtedly a landmark country-music recording. A peace offering between rock-reared longhairs and rock-ribbed Nashville patriarchs (and one matriarch, Mother Maybelle Carter), it exposed generations of upstart pickers and singers to old-time country music and its impact is felt to this day. The organizers of the 1971 sessions that led to the initial three-LP set, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, have produced two sequels, the first in 1989 and the most recent in 2002. This six-disc collection (including an all-star concert DVD) pulls together all three Circle sessions and, naturally, captures dozens of essential performances, plus a fair number of inessentials. Anyone with an interest in country music will want the original. Its mission is clear, the performances are inspired, and its significance is undeniable. The second Circle strays far afield from the original concept, bringing in the rather lightweight likes of John Denver and Michael Martin Murphy to mix with volume one holdovers Jimmy Martin and Earl Scruggs. The final volume is also more diffuse than one would like, though eminent guest stars such as Del McCoury, June Carter Cash, and Johnny Cash help it capture the spirit of the original more frequently than does its immediate predecessor. Completists will relish having all three collections in one box, while those who think three times around the circle is two too many are advised to stick with the 30th anniversary reissue of the initial album. --Steven Stolder |
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Hand-Picked: 25 Years Of Bluegrass On Rounder Records
Release Date: 1995-09-19
Sales rank: 19911
Rounder compiled this superb 50-song set to serve as an introduction to bluegrass in general and to their own catalog in particular. Obvious marketing motives aside, the collection has few weaknesses and offers a broad look at the ever-morphing genre. Perhaps more than any other label, Rounder gave exposure to the renegade progressive and "newgrass" musicians who worshipped the style despite the fact that they weren't from the mountains. Folks like David Grisman, Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, and Bela Fleck push the music in new directions while others such as Del McCoury, Don Stover, James King, Jim & Jesse, and Vern Williams represent more-traditional concerns. Still others--Tony Rice, David Grier, J.D. Crowe, Nashville Bluegrass Band among them--adeptly fuse elements of tradition and innovation. This collection also highlights the important contributions of female artists including Hazel and Alice, Laurie Lewis, Claire Lynch, and Alison Krauss. --Marc Greilsamer |
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Tennessee Pusher
Release Date: 2008-09-23
Sales rank: 953
Old Crow Medicine Show release in 2008 their third Nettwerk album called Tennessee Pusher. Produced by the legendary Don Was (Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones), the album features the first single "Caroline" along with 11 other Old Crow originals and an American standard called "Lift Him Up" by Blind Alfred Reed. Having sold over 290K albums, OCMS can attribute much of their success to their relentless touring schedule. Between headlining shows and countless festivals (Bonnaroo, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, etc), the band lives on the road - they thrive on the communal experience of the live shows. OCMS have made a name for themselves as energetic performers with an unbridled spirit."as musicians, songwriters and singers, they are the smartest and finest purveyors of American music to come down the pike in decades." - Don Was |
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Jenny Scheinman
Release Date: 2008-05-27
Sales rank: 12434
In a 2007 interview entitled "Who Norah Adores," Norah Jones, asked to name her three favorite artists, cited violinist Jenny Scheinman, who among her numerous high-profile credits, appears on Jones' multi-platinum, Grammy-winning, groundbreaking Come Away With Me. Jenny has been the Rising Star violinist in Down Beat's International Critics Poll for several years. She has appeared and recorded with artists as diverse as Lucinda Williams and Bill Frisell, Wilco's Nels Cline and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Her residencies at Brooklyn, NY's Barbes with a rotating cast of some of the greatest players in jazz, rock, and country/folk/bluegrass are becoming the stuff of legend. She also sings; and her move into vocal music, coupled with her unique and original presence as a commanding new voice in instrumental music, make Jenny Scheinman's story one of the really important ones in 2008. Jenny's self-titled vocal debut is a spellbinding take on contemporary Americana, featuring interpretations of songs by Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, blues immortals Mississippi John Hurt and Jimmy Reed, and Tom Waits; as well as folk songs, originals and the standard "Twilight Time." The moods range from rocking ("Come On Down") to romantic ("Rebecca's Song) and from raw back porch gut bucket ("Shame Shame Shame") to heartbreakingly poignant ("Newspaper Angels.") The album as a whole signals the emergence of an unforgettable new voice in American music; and coupled with the simultaneous, digital-only, release of her new instrumental collection, Crossing The Field, announces Jenny Scheinman as a unique, undeniable force. To paraphrase Norah Jones, someone lovely and new. |
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The Three Pickers
Release Date: 2003-07-15
Sales rank: 4165
It took a North Carolina concert for PBS's Great Performances series to get bluegrass legends Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, and Ricky Skaggs together for the first time. It was a celebratory occasion, and this live session, supersaturated with hot licks and down-home warmth, successfully captures the excitement of the unprecedented event. For all the assembled instrumental expertise, it is the traditional vocals--with Skaggs leading the way--that makes the music work. The trio opens with the lively "Feast Here Tonight," featuring scintillating sounds from Skaggs's mandolin, Scruggs's banjo, and Watson's guitar, before taking on the high, lonesome gospel of "What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul." Each member of the trio gets feature spots for his individual band, in addition to the dozen or so songs where the three combine forces. Watson is joined by grandson Richard for a couple of country blues tunes before Scruggs, reinforced by his Family and Friends, takes over for two songs, showcasing his seminal banjo technique on "Earl's Breakdown." Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder also take center stage for two songs, and, as if the litany of legends wasn't enough, fiddler Alison Krauss even joins the trio of principals for three songs. --Michael Point |
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The Carter Family: 1927-1934
Release Date: 2002-04-30
Sales rank: 6713
Their setup was primitive enough--guitar, Autoharp, and vocals--but in the late '20s the trio of A.P. Delaney Carter, his wife Sara, and his sister-in-law Maybelle would change (chart?) the course of country music forever. They did it with haunting harmonies, incredible guitar playing (thanks to Maybelle's driving strums on her Gibson L-5 guitar), and a vast repertoire that included murder ballads, gospel tunes, love songs, and Appalachian folk tunes--many of which would be covered by musicians for decades to come. Unlike their musical peers in the late '20s and early '30s, the Carters weren't just playing "hillbilly" music; this was, quite simply, country music, and their timeless output still resonates with listeners today. JSP's bargain-priced, five-CD collection is easily the most complete, essential collection of their music available, capturing and remastering their RCA Victor recordings (their later, less-seminal sessions for Decca and the American Record Company are not included). Hearing five CDs' worth of music from the Carter Family is almost sensory overload--from the initial 1927 Bristol sessions, which Johnny Cash hailed as "the single most important event in the history of country music," to their depression-era recordings. Even today, Sara Carter's voice sounds aching, yet empowered. Whether they're yodeling through "The Foggy Mountain Top," singing a feminist anthem like "Single Girl, Married Girl," or harmonizing with Maybelle on "Worried Man Blues," you can hear the Carters' profound influence on country music. A must-have. --Jason Verlinde |
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