Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People

Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People

ASIN: B0000002EF

Track Listings

1. Busted

2. Aragon Mill

3. Old Calloused Hands

4. Scraps from Your Table

5. Out Among the Stars

6. West Virginia, My Home

7. Tomorrow's Already Lost

8. Lonesome Pine Special

9. Lost Patterns

10. Beautiful Hills of Galilee

11. Rocking Chair Blues

12. They'll Never Keep Us Down

Tracks:

Busted
Aragon Mill
Old Calloused Hands
Scraps From Your Table
Out Among The Stars
West Virginia, My Home
Tomorrow's Already Lost
Lonesome Pine Special
Lost Patterns
Beautiful Hills Of Galilee
Rocking Chair Blues
They'll Never Keep Us Down

Amazon.com

Few singers have fused lonesome beauty and political passion in the way Hazel Dickens has, though with her voice she could deliver a speech by Newt Gingrich and still break your heart. She writes like a bluegrass-trained Woody Guthrie and sings with the high, sparkling vulnerability of Loretta Lynn--but with even more grit, more pain--relaying the stories, past and present, of the "hard-working people" she grew up with and lived with her whole life. This 1980 album is Dickens's best and most radical. She shines an intense, honest light on the plight of the mining communities--men and women, old and young--of her native West Virginia, and her version of "Aragon Mill," a gorgeous hymn to workers' despair, is sung the way the song should be. A great group of musicians backs her, including Norman and Nancy Blake, Lloyd Green, Buddy Spicher, and Tony Trischka, but Dickens's brilliance is most clear on the wailing a cappella gospel "Beautiful Hills of Galilee": in every note, her strong, authentic character is undeniable. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Authentic Folk Music.......2007-01-09

If you are a fan of old fashioned folk music This is a must have CD. It has songs of rousing union fights and intimate observations of the human condition. There is an old Country Western influence in the music, but I find that appealing.
The purity of this CD is refreshing and has me feeling connected to our past in a way much of what is called "Americana" misses. This is the genuine article.

Beautiful beyond compare..........2006-08-24

I feel incompetent in reviewing this music. There's truly nothing I can write that can do justice to Hazel Dickens, still, there's something to be said for the attempt... Rounder rereleased this in the late-90s I believe, and the world is all the better for it. Whether you're a fan of bluegrass, appalachian old-time music, protest folk or even country. There are shades of gospel in her vocal stylings (comparable to Ralph Stanley's, I feel), which makes sense as she grew up singing in the unacompanied style of the (early) Baptist church. Hazel's style can't simply be relegated into any one of those categories: she transmuted all she heard and saw and felt into a style that was unique to her. I've never heard anything like it.

Truth be told, I'm not an afficiando of any of the afore-mentioned musical genres. But I know what I love and I know damn good music when I hear it. This was Hazel Dickens' first solo release for Rounder around 1980 (?) or so. Along with her, "It's Hard to Tell the Singer From the Song," this is some of the most poignant and marvelous music out there, regardless of the style.

Even despite the dark content of her music and her poetic ability at describing scenes and sentiments, there is still much joy all over these songs. She transmutes an honest sense loss and betrayal into something that rises and flies...

5 stars and then some. Just listen to the audio samples if you don't believe all us 5 star-ers...

One of the most underrated American artists of all time.......2003-11-19

The thing that amazes me about Hazel Dickens is her breathtaking lyrical ability. The music is absolutely superb, and well produced, but it's the lyrical power of songs like "Lost Patterns" that leave me completely speechless. She is actually singing poetry. I recommend you download the MP3s available here to see what I'm talking about, but keep in mind that her sound and messages range beyond what's represented here.

Her word choice on "Lost Patterns" is exceptionally descriptive and well designed, and by itself is enough to make you feel the desperation as if it was your own. But coupled with her voice, and that lovely mountain sound... Outstanding. Not all of her songs are as intensely lonely as Lost Patterns. Some are especially lush and vibrant, such as "West Virginia, My Home." If you have a single bluegrass bone in your body, you won't be disappointed buying this album.

My Favorite Singer/Songwriter.......2003-01-24

I think Hazel Dicken's lyrics and her delivery of the music written by others as well as her own is as relevant to today's rural areas as it was over 20 years ago. She isn't "commercial country" -- just sings it like it is for so many of us. Her honest voice and the emotions she envokes make me laugh or cry or just sit and think like very few other performers.

The deepest hardest blues.......2002-03-08

This music is clear-eyed, bright, and hard. "Aragon Mill," "Tommorow's Already Lost," and, well, everything else is impossibly beautiful and harsh. There are a lot of over used adjectives for deeply American music like this, and they really all apply. Listening to this music you know you can trust what she says. Listening to this music you also know that you should be looking out as much as you can for people who are not as fortunate as you. I first heard her singing "Conversation with Death" on Songcatcher, and just knew that I would have to listen to everything she's done. As a fan I hope she makes a record either by herself, with Iris Dement, Alice Gerrard, or whoever she wants to and makes a million bucks. As a person I just hope I can live up to what her work makes me feel. With the political weather the way it is now, this hard world will just get harder.

Average customer rating:

Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People
Chicken Hawks
Manufacturer: R.a.F.R. ( Rarf )
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005QXET
Release Date: 2001-11-20

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Bonus Track

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