CD Review: Blue Trail of Sorrow - Various Artists
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There are 16 tracks on this album. You will hear people like Alison Krauss & Union Station, Rhonda Vincent, John Hartford, The Stanley Brothers and many more. Bluegrass is slowly regaining it's popularity among the Country set as more and more movies showcase the Bluegrass sound. Recently, O Brother was a big hit, both with the movie and the soundtrack as well. While Dan Tyminski of Union Station made the song "Man of Constant Sorrow" widely popular, another artist performs the song on this album. Another popular dance mix, "Cotton-Eyed Joe" is also done the way it was originally meant to be. Alison Krauss & Union Station kicks things off with "I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers." It is an upbeat tempo song, strongly showcasing the vocal talents of Dan Tyminski, and the musical talents of this group. Rhonda Vincent has been busy making a name for herself in the Bluegrass field. With her rendition of "You Don't Love God If You Don't Love Your Neighbor" she shows us why. It is a song with a definite message. She covers the commandment "Thou Shall Love Thy Neighbor" with references to several specific Bible verses. This is a song with an arrangement that makes it fun to listen to. The title pretty much describes the content of the song. Tony Furtado and Tim O'Brian perform their version of "Man of Constant Sorrow." It is pretty much the same as the soundtrack version from the movie. They give slightly different inflections in their sound. This song has very much grown on me since I heard it for the first time with the release of the movie O Brother. "Cruel Willie" is an instrumental by Connie and Babe featuring Red Roberts. It is somewhat melancholy. They utilize the fiddles in such a way that it almost reminds you of the Scottish bagpipe sound. You are almost transported to the Highlands of Scotland while listening to this. "Bringing In The Georgia Mail" is one of my favorites from this album. It just has a neat tempo to it. It is the story of the train responsible for delivering the mail. A really fun song to listen to is "Owl Feather" featuring the late John Hartford with Mike Compton. It is the story of an owl feather. It is amazing what kind of stories one can concoct with something as simple as a feather. He starts with the feather and ends up with girlfriends, home, dogs and all kinds of things. It has some great instrumentals as well. "Cotton Eyed Joe" has been a long time favorite of mine. I love the banjo, fiddle and mandolin mix. It has a sound that I have always really liked. It takes me to a log cabin in the mountains of Kentucky with people just getting together to "jam" with each other and see what they can do. The now disbanded group, The Freight Hoppers, offer this song for our listening pleasure. The Stanley Brothers are well known in the Bluegrass field, and sing "Meet Me in the Moonlight" for us. It is a love story set to some fancy Mandolin playing and great harmonies from the brothers. Overall, this album is an excellent addition to any Bluegrass collection. It has the definite Christian theme that is prevalent in "mountain" music. All the artists are extremely talented instrumentalists along with their vocal talents. It is nice to see the older, more traditional sounds starting to make a comeback with the fans. Song List:
All graphics © Shelly Fabian, with the exception of the album cover, used with permission of Rounder.
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