The Appalachians by VARIOUS
ARTISTS
Wide Ranging Collection Of Appalachian Music
Stretching across the traditional North-South delineation of Americas
original colonial core, yet linking them as firmly as a spine, the Appalachian
Mountains have had a central role in American industry, culture, and
politics for centuries. While PBSs documentary series examines every
facet of that history, this 22-track soundtrack companion focuses on the
regions impossibly rich musical legacy. Along with jazz and the blues, the
music of Appalachia remains one of Americas most primal and consistently
influential (as evidenced by the revivalist successes of Oh Brother, Where
Art Thou? cultural treasures. The collection performs a tricky tightrope walk
between tradition and its contemporary echoes, and artists from Jimmie
Rodgers (the sublime Waiting For a Train) and the Cash and Carter clans
to contemporary stars like Rickie Skaggs and Jason Ringenberg, yet its
most compelling moments seem rooted not in recording studios, but the
regions rocky soil. The Alabama Sacred Harp Singing Conventions
haunting, African-rooted harmonies on Northfield and eerie a cappella of
Maggie Hammons When This World Comes to an End stand in stark
contrast to the disturbingly frank musings of the Blue Sky Boys murderous
Down on the Banks of the Ohio. These are but three of the highlights on
this evocative anthology. --Jerry McCulley
Personal Review: The Appalachians by VARIOUS ARTISTS
The exemplary companion album to a PBS television series, this features
a wide range of Appalachian folk music, from stark, spooky "shape note"
gospel singing to plunky old-time tunes and greased lightning bluegrass,
with story songs and spirituals, murder ballads and laments for lost love --
all the styles and sentiments that make American mountain music so weird
and wonderful and emotionally resonant. Many of the major players are on
here: Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family (and June Carter Cash,
keeping the tradition alive); bluegrassers like Mac Wiseman, David
Grisman and the Osborne Brothers; old-school folkies like Jean Ritchie
and Depression-era balladeers such as the Blue Sky Boys and Blind Alfred
Reed, and even a few young'uns like Jeff Black and Jason Ringenberg to
round things out... It's a nice set that spans the 20th Century and gives a
well-rounded view of the rich musical heritage of a region that helped
shape American popular culture.
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