Blue Ridge Legacy - The Alan Lomax Portait Series

Blue Ridge Legacy - The Alan Lomax Portait Series Artist: Hobart Smith
Label: Rounder Select
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 011661179929
EAN: 0011661179929
ASIN: B00005JA70


Release Date: 2001-11-13

Related Categories:

Delta Blues Delta Blues
Related | Blues | Styles | Music
Old-Time Country Old-Time Country
Related | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional Folk Traditional Folk
Related | Folk | Styles | Music
Appalachian Appalachian
Related | North America | International | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Compilations | Folk | Styles | Music
Rounder Records Rounder Records
Related | Specialty Stores | Music
General General
Related | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Delta Blues Delta Blues
Related | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Listmania:

  1. Old-time banjo
  2. Southern Journey: An Alan Lomax Collection
  3. Old-Time Favorites from sugarinthegourd.com
  4. Corn Bread & Corn Whiskey: Banjo Tunes

Tracks:

  1. The Devil's Dream
  2. Drunken Hiccups
  3. The Cuckoo Bird
  4. Banging Breakdown
  5. Arkansas Traveler
  6. Railroad Bill
  7. Claude Allen
  8. Hangman, Swing Your Rope
  9. Wayfaring Stranger
  10. Sourwood Mountain
  11. Going Down The Road Feeling Bad
  12. Pateroller
  13. Chinquipin Pie
  14. Last Chance
  15. Jim Along
  16. Two Brothers
  17. Ellen Smith
  18. Graveyard Blues
  19. K.C. Blues
  20. Unidentified Electric Guitar Tune
  21. Cindy
  22. At An Old-Timey Dance (Interview)
  23. Cindy
  24. The Thrill Of Dance Music (Interview)
  25. What Did The Buzzard Say To The Crow?
  26. Buck Dance
  27. Old Joe Clark
  28. Dixie
  29. Sourwood Mountain
  30. Hawkins County Jail
  31. Rocky Mountain

Similar Items:

  1. In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes
  2. The High Lonesome Sound
  3. Greenback Dollar: 1929-1933
  4. Ballad Legacy: The Alan Lomax Portait Series
  5. An Untamed Sense of Control

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Hard-hitting Americana, not smoothie country-pop.......2003-03-14

There are no two ways around it, this is an excellent collection of performances by one of the true mountain masters, Hobart Smith. First off, if for no other reason, get this disc for his rendition of Cuckoo Bird. This continues to be the single most intense banjo playing ever applied to this excellent tune. Hobart's playing is full of fire and drive and will certainly shake you up. An absolutely incredible piece for comparing/contrasting with other excellent versions such as those on the Black Banjo Songsters Of North Carolina & Virginia cd, Clarence Ashley's Greenback Dollar disc, etc...

Last Chance is another banjo masterpiece that isn't far behind Cuckoo Bird.

Unlike one of the previous reviewers, I'd say that I prefer Dock Boggs' voice to Hobart's but that's just splitting hairs. They are both two of the greatest musicians to ever attack the banjo. Although Hobart does hold a certain distinction for being such a great musician on so many instruments, of which this collection includes him on banjo, fiddle, piano, and guitar. I'm not a huge fan of the several piano pieces though, except for Dixie, which is probably my favorite version of this tune that I have ever heard. Still though, in my opinion, Hobart's magic came predominantly on the solo banjo tunes (and/or banjo & vocal), and secondarily on the fiddle, particularly solo fiddle tunes. He has excellent tone and just... well, he puts the notes where they need to be.

With the ever-growing dominance of style-over-substance in American culture, a disc such as this means even more to me. For quite a while the hills really were alive with the sound of music. Now those sounds are the echoes of fading memories, more often than not.

5 out of 5 stars Yippee - a classic.......2002-08-10

Hobart Smith was a wonderful musician. This is a great collection.

5 out of 5 stars Finally, the recordings of this true master are available!.......2001-10-13

If you consider yourself even a passing fan of old-timey, Appalachian, blues, or bluegrass music, do not pass this one up. Hobart Smith was a distinctive and unsurpassed banjo player and fiddle player, a fine piano and guitar player, and had a much more accessable singing voice than many of the old-time banjo players. Dock Boggs, Roscoe Holcomb, etc. were fine musicians, but their voices were acquired tastes, so if you are looking for old-time music with a much more accessable voice, Hobart Smith should be right up your alley. Don't try to pigeon-hole him with Dock and Roscoe, though. Stylistically, Smith ran the gamut of American folk music through to his death in 1965, drawing equally from white and black traditions. Whatever he played, though, he played with soul and energy. As an added bonus, the liner notes are fantastic, providing information about the man, his styles of playing, and the songs themselves.

If you are looking for more music in this tradition, Dock Boggs' "Country Blues," and Roscoe Holcomb's "High Lonesome Sound," are fantastic recordings, but their voices are, as mentioned earlier, an acquired taste (particularly Dock Boggs). Much easier on the ears is Doc Watson, another amazing multi-instrumentalist who played in many styles, and is the father of modern bluegrass guitar. Fans of Hobart Smith should make sure they own his self-titled album, and "Old-Timey Concert." John Hartford carried the tradition of energetic multi-instrumentalists in the old-time tradition through the 70s, 80s and 90s, and "Mark Twang" is somewhat like this album, but "Aereo-plain," and, "Morning Bugle," are also particularly worth owning. Norman Blake, of course, played a lot with the late Mr. Hartford, and "Whiskey Before Breakfast" is a true classic. If you are feeling truly adventurous, try listening to Alvin Youngblood Hart's "Territory," on which the nominally "blues" musician covers a range of American musical styles, old and new, on a range of instruments with a vitality that puts to shame those who play traditional styles for scholarship rather than for the sake of the music.

Music CD:

  1. Built Like That ~ Alix Olson
  2. Stories ~ Ellis Paul
  3. Time ~ Steeleye Span
  4. Dixieland Christmas
  5. One Thru Fourteen ~ Vance Gilbert
  6. The Music of the Hmong People of Laos ~ Boua Xou Mua
  7. Lovely in the Dances: Songs of Sydney Carter ~ Various Artists
  8. Feel ~ Nagisa Ni Te
  9. Sands of Time ~ Grace Griffith
  10. No Roses ~ Shirley Collins

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Statesboro Blues ~ Dave Van Ronk

Pure and Crooked ~ Iain Matthews

Virgin and a Whore ~ Eternal Tears of Sorrow

Standin' on the Corner ~ Shank

Israel 50 Ans: the Most Beautiful Songs ~ Various Artists

Yesterdays ~ La'cryma Christi

Classic Rock & Roll ~ Various Artists

Wo Finde Ich Den Mann? ~ Lill Babs

The Ref ~ David A. Stewart

In Stereo ~ Bomfunk MC's