John Hartford (1937-2001) was one of the most endearing and original figures in the acoustic music revival. A genuine, all-American oddball and a deep repository of America's rural musical history, Hartford had a way of welcoming his listeners and making them feel like they'd truly come home. This page looks at some of the best-of collections and retrospectives of his work; for reviews of his original, individual albums, see Page One of this profile.
John Hartford "RCA Country Legends" (Buddah, 2001)
As noted above, Hartford's early work on the RCA-Nashville label had its shortcomings... Mostly, it's the forced nature of the lyrics that comes through; it seems as if the studio heads were trying to impose a style on Hartford that didn't quite match up to his unique sense of humor. The half-Dylan, half Don Bowman "oddball" pose sounds a bit stiff, as does the musical backup. Still, this disc has some sweet moments, including the original versions of "Easy On My Mind" and "Washing Machine," as well as the more effective novelty songs, like "Category Stomp" and "How Come You're Being So Good To Me," and "Front Porch," a nice early example of the type of offbeat love song that Hartford later made his own. This disc doesn't include any material off of his final RCA album, Iron Mountain Depot, which remains an unrecognized country-rock masterpiece... Hopefully that means a separate reissue is planned for that album all by itself!
John Hartford "Catalogue" (Flying Fish, 1981)
A fine best-of offering that was the standard best-of set for years (until the Anthology album listed below came out...) Predictably, the song selection is a bit idiosyncratic and likely to leave long-time fans dissatisfied and digging in the crates for those old, original albums.. If you're new to the John Hartford phenomenon, though, this could certainly serve as a fine introduction.
John Hartford "Anthology" (Flying Fish, 1987)
Ditto with this collection... This adds another half-dozen years to choose from, and mixes old "hits" with curious, offbeat selections... Each fan will find some of their favorite tunes "missing" from this disc, but with so many great songs to choose from, that's bound to happen. Nice introduction to his work that should leave you wishing for more...
John Hartford "Me Oh My, How The Time Does Fly" (Flying Fish, 1987)
The CD version of the Anthology LP, with 19 songs total, all classic material.
"Down From The Mountain" (Artisan Entertainment, 2001) (DVD)
/ VHS
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When I first saw O Brother, Where Art Thou, I thought it was a real hoot. Even better was the year-long debate among bluegrass fans, with indignant acoustic music loyalists up in arms over the supposed negative portrayals of hillbillies and hicks. Regardless, the film's soundtrack hit the top of the Billboard charts, and thrust bluegrass into the limelight of American popular culture. Good thing, too, because the album's commercial success made a major concert tour -- and this documentary of the tour -- possible. Besides being one of the most successful films to ever capture the complex emotional interactions between musicians on stage, this is also an enduring testament to the talent and perseverence of John Hartford, who emceed the show and performed eloquently with various musicians, despite his ongoing health problems. An absolutely beautiful and subtle, humorous and affectionate film, co-produced by the venerable D. A. Pennebaker. If you liked the O Brother album, this will blow you away.
"Down From The Mountain" (Soundtrack) (Lost Highway, 2001)
Perhaps the single best thing about O Brother's commercial success was that it made a major concert tour -- and this documentary of the tour -- possible. Besides being one of the most successful films to ever capture the complex emotional interactions between musicians on stage, this is also an enduring testament to the talent and perseverence of the late, great, John Hartford, who emceed the show and performed eloquently with various musicians, despite ongoing health problems that were, literally, killing him at the time. I gotta confess, I got all misty almost every time he came on screen. An absolutely beautiful, subtle, humorous and affectionate film, co-produced by the venerable D. A. Pennebaker. If you liked the O Brother album, this concert film will blow you away.
