The Bottom Line
- "September When It Comes"
- "Life In The Country"
- "Gold Watch & Chain"
- None.
Description
- Collection of 21 songs chosen by the Americana Music Association.
- Includes extensive liner notes and lists of "essential" Americana albums.
- Represents "a significant, yet only a small" sampling of the genre.
Guide Review - Various Artists - This is Americana
Country? Seems it must be, with names like Cash, Nelson, Price, BR549, Lauderdale, and Junior Brown. But wait. Bluegrass? There're Ralph Stanley and Alison Krauss. Or straight-up roots, with Slaid Cleaves, Fairfax, the Jayhawks, and the gravel-voiced Arthur Godfrey? Mostly, "This Is Americana" leans to the country side, leaning heavily on the mountain and honky-tonk sound with some twists and turns provided by a rich and varied tapestry of artists.
No matter how you define the genre, the simple truth is, it's good. It's worth hearing. I'd love for it to be more popular, but refer to my first paragraph for the deep pitfalls that can lead to. Those that seek it out will find it, and hopefully enjoy it. Especially wondrous and moving is Johnny and Rosanne Cash singing "September When it Comes," her voice of liquid gold overshadowed by her father's tremulous, venerable vocals, only which gained in poignance as he entered the last years of his life.
