Various Artists, True Bluegrass (Rounder, 2002)
Various Artists, Mama's Hand (Rounder, 2002)
Ah bluegrass -- what genre has had more pronounced ups and downs, more sentimentality within the music and around the tradition, and more contention over who "owns" this musical tradition -- sustained in great measure by the exodus of traditional musicians and fans from the land to the cities? Well, maybe Irish traditional music, but that's another story! What we have here are two compilations and one new recording, that all get high marks from this fan. I've been raving about Great Northern since I first heard them, and indeed I hope to be able to see them live. And Rounder has once again helpfully mined their vaults of tasty discs and put together two compilations that bring together some great names -- the first from the 1970s, and the latter around the charged subject of things maternal. So, get ready for a dose of populist music, appropriated by both the right and the left, and resurrected this time around by two guys named Coen from Minnesota!
True Bluegrass is a compilation of material by Rounder artists from the 1970s, and represents a great slice of bluegrass history from a time when the bluegrass pioneers were slowing down, and today's icons were just appearing on the scene. No doubt this volume was inspired by the renaissance in bluegrass brought on by the Coen brothers movie turned phenomenon, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, and is providing the label with a chance to cash in on some the material held in its vaults. Purists or completists might want to acquire as many of the original albums as possible, but many bluegrass afficianados, and certainly those new to the tradition, will be happy with this compilation, and its sister disc, Bluegrass, Mountain Style.
I particularly liked Butch Robbins' "Sally Goodin," Phyllis Boyens' "To Hell with the Land," Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard's "Montana Cowboy" and J.D. Crowe and the New South's "Crying Holy." But those are largely personal preferences, because everything on this disc is would stand out in a different pack, or on the artists' own releases. This is a collection of gems -- a tennis bracelet of of bluegrass strung together from a formative time in bluegrass history. There is one new track by the Lilly Brothers, "God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign" -- surely a classic if there ever was one! Many of today's stars grace this disc, often as part of groups they would later transcend: Rikky Skaggs, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Allison Kraus, Jerry Douglas, and even Emmylou Harris all make appearances -- often in several ensembles.
One of the questions that always comes up with this sort of historical compilation is whether the album flows across the many artists and groups; another is whether the sound is stuck in time, a fashion victim of the times. Rest assured that True Bluegrass does not suffer on either account. The flow is superb, and the production is well done -- if the listener is neither a bluegrass expert, nor a reader of liner notes, the era would not be apparent; and the folks at Rounder have done a great job of putting this material together. True Bluegrass comes highly recommended from yours truly!
I liked Great Northern from the moment I heard them on CBC radio, and immediately requested their album, Low Lonesome. What makes their sound unique amongst bluegrass bands is the inclusion of a cello along with the usual upright bass, guitar, mandolin, fiddle and banjo. Adding the cello really rounds out Great Northern's sound, giving it depth missing in a lot of bluegrass ensembles.
3 is definitely a step forward for the band, although I would have liked to hear more of the great instrumentals that graced the previous album. Having said that, "Frost Morning" and "Glasgow Gaelic" are two great instrumental tracks, the latter clearly a bluegrass tune -- with some light Scottish accents. And I have to say that this time around the instrumental breaks are used effectively to heighten the drama of the songs, that Eccles has really grown as a lead singer and as a songwriter, that the band has become even tighter as an ensemble, and that the production values of this disc are superb. I'd put this up against pretty much any of the recent bluegrass releases I've heard in the past year, and expect it to come out ahead. 3 deserves as much exposure as it can get.
"Judas is my name" is an original, confessional song from a man who has deserted his family for no other reason than "treason of the heart"; it's so full of remorse and resignation that it could have been adapted from one of those old Protestant hymns about sinners. There are some effective covers that place 3 firmly in the North American roots tradition. Leadbelly's "When I was a Cowboy" gets a rollicking, relaxed treatment, and is one of the high points of the album, accented by some dramatic instrumentals with a great contrast between the cello and the banjo. "Blue and Lonesome" is a Bill Monroe and Hank Williams classic that pretty much defines the genre -- it's got trains, tears, leaving, loving, in all the right proportions, and Great Northern does it up fine. Craig MacGregor's "Magnolia" has the temerity to follow this classic, and it too has all of the elements that make for staying power -- a great tune, loving, leaving, dreaming, drinking, tears, madness, it's all there!
If you've not heard of this Vancouver group, now is the time to remedy that situation.
Mama's Hand is a compilation of bluegrass albums about mothers, a common source of inspiration for bluegrass song writers. Country and bluegrass musicians are nothing if not sentimental about their mothers, who seem to represent all that is wholesome and left behind -- a reflection of the mobile ways of Americans, and perhaps the importance of the women who maintained family networks across time and continents, whether for nineteenth century pioneers or today's economic immigrants. This disc is entitled Bluegrass and Mountain Songs about Mother, and I'd have to say that this collection of slow, sentimental songs owes more to the mountain tradition that gave rise to country music rather than the instrumental flourishes that characterize bluegrass. That said, those who like old time country music, and plain spun vocals with that flat, countrified accent that dominates the lower midwest and upper south will like this disc.
There are some sweet bluegrass style vocals in some numbers, such as The Whitstein Brothers' "Shake My Mother's Hand for Me," where mother is among the saints that come out to meet the friend that is (presumably) about to pass on. As you might expect from this description, mothers inspire songs when they are far away -- removed by death or long distances. It's positively depressing to be a mum in this world! But maybe that's just the way it is; our relationships with our mother are so tied up with our dependence and striving for our own selfhood that mothers are often unappreciated until they're far away. And often tied up with our spirituality -- in "Dear Old Mother" by Jim and Jesse, both parents have removed themselves to heaven, and memories of bible reading bring comfort. This is pretty archtypal stuff! Take Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard's "The Sweetest Gift, A Mother's Smile" mum visits her son in prison, and, well the title pretty much sums it up. In "A Miner's Child" the little one has a prescient dream of her mother's demise down below, begging her not to go to work -- complete with a fine wailing fiddle line that goes straight for the heartstings.
There is some fine singing and playing on this disc, but I found it tough going precisely because these songs celebrate the excessive flow of emotions tied up in the subject of motherhood. So, while I could admire the music, it's not one I'll be likely to play often. If you love this aspect of bluegrass and mountain singing, you'll love this disc, but for myself, I wished for a few more bright spots. It's not perhaps, a disc to actually play on Mother's Day! I can't help but think most of the mothers immortalized here would probably have wanted to inspire a bit more cheer in their offspring -- but who am I to argue with tradition?
The first two discs reviewed here are mandatory for bluegrass fans, and I imagine that both labels are doing a brisk business in these CDs. Mama's Hand is a bit more specialized, but will probably be loved by those who crave excess -- and mountain music is a wellspring of that! Musicologists will also like this collection, as it represents a great look into the maternal archetype in American roots music.
