The Appalachians, a companion though not necessarily a soundtrack to the U.S. public television series of the same title, is a sterling example of the way to do a compilation disc. The producers have made all the right choices and come up with a musical program that tells the story it's meant to tell, thoroughly and in a very entertaining manner.

The subject is the Appalachians, which literally is a mountain chain that runs from America's deep south up through New York, New England and into Canada. Symbolically, Appalachia is a state of mind, a way of life, and a touchstone of American folklore and culture. The public television series covered the region's history, demographics, geography and sociology, using the music both to add resonance to the words and images and to emphasize the beauty and lasting impact of this Appalachian music. I've only seen excerpts from the programs on a DVD sampler, but what I saw made me want to track down the program when it appears at my local library or rental store.

Most people when they think about Appalachian music probably think "bluegrass." There's some of that here -- the Osborne Brothers' "Hillbilly Fever" and Ricky Skaggs' "Soldier of the Cross" principally -- but in actuality the popular style was a latecomer to the region's musical pallet.

Appalachian music goes back much further, to the English and Celtic instrumental and ballad forms brought with the earliest immigrants to the region. The beautiful fiddle tune "East River of Shannon" by Arlene Kortright, though contemporary, reflects the music's roots. And Addie Graham's 1978 unaccompanied song "We're Stole and Sold From Africa" tells the African-American side of the story of the region's settlement.

Old-time ballads are a strong current running through mountain music. Representing them here is the traditional "Boozefighters" by the group Gandydancer, Jean Ritchie's chilling rendition of "West Virginia Mine Disaster," and a hair-raising field recording from the Library of Congress of an elderly woman named Maggie Hammons singing "When This World Comes to an End." Sacred harp singing is represented by "Northfield," a 1942 Lomax recording from Alabama. The ubiquitous murder ballad is ably represented by the best-known, "Banks of the Ohio" in a lovely languid reading by the Blue Sky Boys.

The two acts who did the most to bring hillbilly music to the American public were the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Here the Carters sing one of their best known, "Wildwood Flower," with its centuries-old imagery and well-traveled tune, and one not quite so well known, "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow Tree." This one is a perfect example of their style, A.P.'s ghostly baritone harmonies fading in and out as Sarah and Maybelle carry the tune. Mac Wiseman does a bluegrass version of A.P. Carter's "I Wonder How the Old Folks Are At Home," and the incomparable David Grisman and Tony Rice close the disc with an instrumental version of "Wildwood Flower."

Jimmie Rodgers sings one of his loneliest songs, "Waiting For a Train," accompanied by a small jazz band. Blind Alfred Reed's "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times" tells a similar tale of life during the Great Depression.

There's plenty more. Worth special mention is June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash performing "The Road to Kaintuck" from June's final album, Wildwood Flower. This song tells the story of the hardy souls who, led by Daniel Boone, first left the Atlantic Seaboard and settled the mountains; written by June, it originally appeared on a couple of Johnny's western-themed albums in the 1960s. Additional highlights from younger performers are Paul Burch telling the tale of the arrival of "Electricity," Jeff Black's muscular cover of Merle Travis' folk masterpiece "Dark As a Dungeon," and former punk Jason Ringenberg singing the ballad of a farmer who loses his land to a Tennessee Valley Authority dam in "Price of Progress."

As you can see, the selections were not simply chosen at random, but illustrate themes and historic episodes from the history of Appalachia, from moonshining to religion, hardscrabble farming and coal mining, and the reality of having to leave home and family in search of work. If only all themed compilations of American roots music were so thoughtfully produced. You can order the CD, book and DVD here.

A perfect companion piece to The Appalachians is Meeting in the Air, the 2004 reissue of a 1980 album of Carter Family songs by the original Red Clay Ramblers. This disc, originally on Bruce Kaplan's Flying Fish label (later subsumed by Rounder), features 14 tracks originally recorded by A. P., Sarah, and Maybelle, including several from fairly deep in the Carter songbook.

Accompanying themselves simply on guitars and banjo, with an occasional autoharp or piano, these three fine musicians capture the essence of the great Carter Family songs. All three swap lead vocal duties, with Mike Craver taking the highest vocals, Jim Watson mostly the middle-range and Jim Watson A.P.'s baritone parts.

Starting off up-tempo with the gospel song "Anchored in Love," the album covers a good range of Carter song types. These include homages to their Southern homeland ("When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland," "My Dixie Darling," "The Winding Stream"), sentimental memories of old times and school days ("The School House on the Hill"), gospel ("Meeting in the Air," "Anchored in Love"), and love songs both happy ("Lulu Wall") and sad ("One Little Word," "Are You Tired of Me My Darling"). Additional topics are covered in fun numbers like "Give Me The Roses While I Live," "I Ain't Going to Work Tomorrow" and "A Stern Old Bachelor." A real tear-jerker is "While the Band Is Playing Dixie," which turns out to be a letter home to a sweetheart from a soldier who fell in the Civil War. Beautiful harmonies abound.

The Ramblers give the music an extra note of authenticity by maintaining the rhythmic hooks the Carters wove into their songs. In a good percentage of their songs, whether they're four-beat numbers like "Bachelor" or in waltz-time like "The Winding Stream," there's often an extra two beats tossed in or subtracted, at the end of a phrase or before the chorus. It's a common device in hillbilly music, but one that most versions of "Keep On the Sunny Side" and other Carter standards smooth out.

This is a nice package all the way, with good but simple liner notes, a dedication from Alice Gerrard and mostly the songs, performed with grace, wit and verve. Learn more at Mike Craver's Web site.