Various Artists "THE ALL-NIGHT GANG" (Rebel, 1991)
Sweet, traditionally-oriented recordings by several loose-knit, Nashville-based truegrass outfits, including the Bluegrass Idles, the Cluster Pluckers, Roland White's New Kentucky Colonels, and the Sidemen, four sorta-bands that would meet and play informally at J.T. Gray's Station Inn. A nice, mellow, low-key set of songs.

Various Artists "THE BEST OF BLUEGRASS: 20th CENTURY MASTERS MILLENNIUM COLLECTION" (Universal/Hip-O, 2002)
A cursory glance at the huge back catalog of fab bluegrass owned by the Universal corporation (which includes MCA-Decca, among other labels). As with many MCA-Universal reissues, this disc is a bit stingy (only 12 tracks), but it's full of good music, and could serve as an adequate introduction to the genre, with musicians ranging from old-schoolers Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers to young 'uns like Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill. Also nice to see the Osbourne Brothers and the Stoneman family getting their propers. Good for anyone curious about this music, but it would also be swell if Universal would dig a little deeper in order to satisfy folks who are already fans.

Various Artists "BIG MON: THE SONGS OF BILL MONROE" (Skaggs Family, 2000)
I guess old habits die hard... Ricky Skaggs came up through the bluegrass/newgrass ranks in the 1970s, and as the decade ended he shifted his career trajectory towards straight-out Nashville Top 40. Ricky did pretty well, but came back into the acoustic fold a few years back. Right around the time bluegrass originator Bill Monroe passed away, Skaggs was tagged by many as a potential heir to the throne in years to come. That's what makes this glossy tribute to Monroe so disappointing: that Skaggs organized it himself, and brought in such schlocky Nashville cats to help out. OK, sure, the traditionalist tributes have already been done (such as Sugar Hill's 1996 TRUE LIFE BLUES...) and why begrudge Travis Tritt, Steve Wariner or the Dixie Chicks their right to pay homage to an old-timer? The only trouble is that mostly this sounds all wrong... It's too slick, too self-conscious a mix of modern and "traditional", and too flat and unemotional. It's simply not worthy of the passion and intensity that Monroe injected into pretty much every record he ever made. To its credit, this album is nowhere near as awful as the Jimmie Rodgers tribute that came out a few years ago, but it's still not that engaging. I'm sure lots of people will go ga-ga over this record... just don't count me in their number.

Various Artists "THE BRISTOL SESSIONS" (Country Music Foundation, 1987)
Welcome to the motherlode. In 1927, Victor Records A&R representative Ralph Peer set up a recording studio in a rural Tennessee hotel, and brought to the world the first recordings of the Carter Family, as well as future superstar, blues yodeller Jimmie Rodgers. Other dimly remembered old-timey artists were also recorded, such as gospel singers Alfred G. Karnes and Ernest Phipps, Ernest Stoneman, and various stringbands, as well as a slew of local performers who never enjoyed the commercial success of the more luminous stars mentioned above. This 2-disc set is completely fabulous -- if you like old-timey hill music, this is the motherlode, an absolutely essential collection.

Various Artists "CHRISTMAS IN THE MOUNTAINS" (Rebel, 2003)
A rough-hewn, soulful set of bluegrass yuletide, with tracks dating back to Rebel's early '60s origins. The Country Gentlemen, Larry Sparks, Dr. Ralph Stanley and others add their holiday cheer... High marks go to Paul Williams and his Victory Trio, who are (naturally) quite well suited to the genre. Highly recommended! (By the way - if you like country Christmas records, I review a whole bunch of them on my hillbilly holiday page... )

Various Artists "CLASSIC BLUEGRASS FROM SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS" (Smithsonian Folkways, 2002)
An excellent label sampler, drawn from five decades of bluegrass and hill music recordings, including venerable legends such as Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Hazel & Alice, and the New Lost City Ramblers, as well as pickers of humbler repute, such as Harley Allen, Hugh Moore and Smiley Hobbs. Folkways got into bluegrass just as it was fading as a commercial force in the late 1950s; the label provided an important venue for the bubbling up within the '60s folk scene, with special emphasis on the folkloric, backwoods aspect. This disc combines old-timey folkloric recordings, festival appearances (fun to hear the Stanley Brothers wow the crowd with their corny, old-fashioned showmanship...) and more recent recordings from the '70s and '80s. A very listenable and lively collection, and a good signpost to point you towards some of the best stuff in the Folkways catalog.

Various Artists "CLOSE TO HOME: OLD TIME MUSIC FROM MIKE SEEGER'S COLLECTION" (Smithsonian Folkways, 1998)
Wonderful raspy rural music recorded between 1952-'67 by Pete's little brother. Includes later recordings from legends such as fiddler Eck Robertson, banjo-pickin' ne'er-do-well, Dock Boggs, and Sara and Maybelle Carter, as well as dozens of jes-plain-folks recorded off the cuff by the eager kid from New York City. Some of the recordings are fragmentary, and all were recorded under the simplest of conditions, with just one microphone, out on a porch or in someone's kitchen. But it's precisely this informal, non- professional nature of these recordings which give them their appeal. Also, check out the wonderful CDs of Seeger's own band, the New Lost City Ramblers (listed above).

Various Artists "DADDIES SING GOOD NIGHT: A FATHER'S COLLECTION OF SLEEPYTIME SONGS" (Sugar Hill, 1994)
Gee -- could ya imagine having Leon Redbone or the fellers from Seldom Scene play your bedtime lullabies? It'd be almost as cool as having Jim Henson as your babysitter! Also on here are Chris Hillman, Doc Watson, Jesse Winchester, Michael Doucet and Tim & Mollie O'Brien.This is a sweet, soft set of soothing acoustic tunes, some traditional, others written by the artists... A nice little album to count sheep by!

Various Artists "HARRY SMITH ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC" (Smithsonian Folkways, 1952/1998)
Oddball record collecting mystic-savant Harry Smith was one of the first eggheady bohemian types to take stock of the vast ocean of hauntingly evocative, genuinely odd, music recorded by rural blues and country artists during the Great Depression. While living in New York during the early '50s, Smith assembled a three-volume compilation of albums that acted as a Rosetta Stone for the nascent folk scene, moving many artists to earnestly take up the song-collecting banner, and later inspired others such as Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs to create a whole new folk canon of equal power. This widely-praised, Grammy-winning Smithsonian-Folkways box set reissues four discs worth of material originally assembled in the early 1950s by an oddball record-collecting savant who became the guru of the 'Sixties folk scene. And it's pretty awesome. (Note: legend has it that these albums represented only a fraction of his collection of rare 78s; the rest of them were pawned to the New York City Library, which musicians such as John Cohen and Mike Seeger -- of the New Lost City Ramblers -- later used as their creative wellspring during the folk revival).

Various Artists "HARRY SMITH'S ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC, Vol. 4" (Revenant, 2000)
Another absolutely gorgeous release on this John Fahey-related label. This 2-CD set of primal folk and old-timey recordings follows in the wake of the Smithsonian-Folkways box set and has fewer unknown artists -- there are several tracks from way out in left field, but mainly it's heavily populated with well-known acts such as the Carter Family, Leadbelly, Memphis Minnie and the Blue Sky Boys. What is specially compelling about this set, though, is its excellent sequencing, in which each song -- even those by the well-known artists -- is set into a larger context, and sounds new, fresh, and mysterious. The collection opts for melody rather than the quirky starkness associated with old-timey music. The effect is lulling and trance-inducing, making this set much more accessible than many similar collections. In addition, the lavishly-designed booklet, which includes amused, laudatory essays by acoustic music veterans such as John Cohen (of the New Lost City Ramblers), Ed Sanders (of the Fugs) and John Fahey (who owns Revenant) is both aesthetically beautiful and wildly informative... a fitting tribute to one of the most charismatic cultural eccentrics of the Beat era. For accuracies sake, I have to point out that the provenance of this collection is a little up in the air, since the erratic Smith had assembled a precise playlist for Volume Four, but lost it during one of his down phases. Still, with the input of so many folks who knew him personally, I think it's safe to say that this collection is pretty much the real deal.

Various Artists "MORE BONA FIDE BLUEGRASS & MOUNTAIN MUSIC" (BMG Heritage, 2002)
There's actually a fair amount of un-grassy material on here, but also a lot of gems such as tracks by the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and the McPeak Brothers that'll knock your socks off. Also some later Lester Flatt tunes, from his early '70s RCA days, and some live tracks with Mac Wiseman. Kinda hodge-podgey, but worth checking out, especially since so much of this has been out of print for so long.

Various Artists "MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN: THE BLUEGRASS COLLECTION" (Varese Sarabande, 2002)
A nice set culled from the '60s catalog of the long-defunct cheapo label, Everest Records. Loads of talent on here, ranging from old-time hotshots like Joe Maphis (in one of his "folk" slumming moods) to clever young'uns such as Eric Weissberg, Erik Darling and Dick Rossmini, as well as smartalecky popsters like Mason Williams and David Lindley. A wide range of plunkers, to be sure, but this disc is packed with lovely moments, the best of which is Roger McGuinn's delicate, brilliant (but far too short!) "Banjo Bach," which adapts -- I think -- a fragment of one of the Brandenburgs. Sadly, the liner notes aren't terribly informative about recording dates and such, but that shouldn't get in the way of your enjoying this groovy little album. Really, it's worth checking out!

"O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?" -- Sigh... wouldn't ya just know it? I actually have a whole separate page devoted just to this subject.

Various Artists "O SISTER...A WOMEN'S BLUEGRASS COLLECTION" (Rounder, 2001)
Nothing to complain about here. Rounder cashes in on the O Brother Where Art Thou? phenomenon with a fem-centric collection packed with goodies by Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Claire Lynch, Hazel Dickens, Suzanne Thomas, Lynn Morris and others. Sticks to the more traditional end of the spectrum, and keeps the momentum up throughout. Most of these gals are worth checking out on their own, but this makes a perfect introduction to their music.

Old-Timey compilations -- yes, there is some overlap, but also a few special surprises.

Various Artists "PINECASTLE CHRISTMAS GATHERIN' " (Pinecastle, 2003)
A swell holiday offering by some of best, most hearfelt indie bluegrass artists of the Pinecastle label's stable. Michelle Nixon, Larry Stephenson, David Parmley, Charlie Waller and others are included, drawing on material off of several albums recorded between 1996-2003, with most of the material apparently recorded just for this album. The highlights are two zippy instrumentals, "Frosty The Snowman" as done by Scott Vestal and his pals, and a version of "O, Come All Ye Faithful," featuring Ross Nickerson with some sweet banjo licks. Nice stuff! (By the way - if you like country Christmas records, I review a whole bunch of them on my hillbilly holiday page... )

Various Artists "WHITE COUNTRY BLUES 1926-1938: A LIGHTER SHADE OF BLUE" (Columbia Legacy, 1993)
The hazy line between old-time hill music and blues-influenced proto-country is mighty fine... This set falls well into the blues camp, but it's such a great collection that if you're poking around the edges of antique twangcore, then this album might also run a shiver down your spine. Recommended!

Various Artists "WPAQ: THE VOICE OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS" (Rounder, 1999)
A fab collection of hard-core mountain music recorded several decades ago at a small, locally-oriented radio station in rural North Carolina. In assembling this disc, Rounder has stayed true to the station's local community orientation -- although big-name stars often visited the station, the tracks stick pretty firmly to obscure regional musician; Jim Eanes is probably the best-known artist on here, otherwise it's just plain folks, playing live on the radio. Murder ballads, bluegrass bounces, squeaky fiddle tunes and glorious/goofy gospel -- it's all here, and it's all really good. These recordings come from the days in the late '40s/early '50s when bluegrass was still ascendant, so there is a strong stylistic pull towards more melodic material, and you should be able to get your bluegrass-only pals to give it a listen...

Various Artists "YOUNG FOGIES" (Rounder, 1994)
Various Artists "YOUNG FOGIES v.2" (Rounder, 1995)
Two great collections of various Rounder bands who play the plinky-plunky... Features folks such as the Dry Branch Fire Squad... etc etc... This was meant as a cheapie catalog sampler, but don't let that bother you -- all the performances are top-notch, and the enthusiasm of the bands shines through on every cut. Recommended!

• More bluegrass reviews... the Letter "A"

Hick Music Index