Customer Reviews
Stunning, evocative music. - By: Z. A. Shah, 14 Apr 2008 
I'm not from the US, my family hail from Kashmir & I was bornin the UK, grew up listening to punk rock but WOW! The soundtrack literally drips with the era & place it hails from; every time I hear a snippet I swear I can feel the heat & smell the wheat - so amazing!
Diverse selection of old-time music - By: P D Harris, 01 Jul 2005 The music here, like the film it provides the soundtrack for, is presumably intended to take us back to the thirties. Several songs from that era are featured along with traditional material that would have been popular then. Recorded mainly with state-of-the-art technology (except for some old recordings that are included & re-mastered), the sound quality is far superior to anything availablein the thirties. Several different types of music can be found here - blues, gospel, country & folk - mainly performed by contemporary artists with a deep respect for tradition. I'll just pick out some of them although there are many excellent songs here.
Even Alison Krauss sticks firmly with tradition here - she often brings contemporary influences into her music these days but not here. Alison can be heard here on Down to the river to pray (as a solo singer), I'll fly away (providing harmony vocals for lead singer Gillian Welch) & Didn't leave nobody but the baby (joining Gillian & Emmylouin three-part harmony).
The inclusion of two Carter Stanley songs on a soundtrack such as this is predictable but welcome, with the Whites performing a superb version of the oft-recorded Keep on the sunny side, while the Peasall children (Hannah singing lead with Sarah & Leah providing harmony vocals) arein great form on In the highways. Children's recordings rarely impress me but this track does.
One song here that surprised me (though perhaps it shouldn't have) is Big rock candy mountain. It can be found on plenty of albums of children's songs, when it is invariably presented as an up-tempo song that children can (if they wish) sing along to. Here we get the original 1928 recording by Harry McLintock, who sings it at a more measured, reflective pace, showing that there is more to this song than I originally thought. I still prefer it as an up-tempo song generally but I'm glad I heard this version. I wonder what the Peasall sisters would have done with this song.
The Coen brothers clearly hoped that this soundtrack would provide a resurgence of interestin traditional music. While this soundtrack was a big commercial success, it seems that the majority of people who bought it (and continue to buy it) regard it as something of a novelty. Nashville record labels signed some traditional singers (Elizabeth Cook, though not featured here, is one that comes to mind) but they didn't get enough airplay on American country radio, so such artists were dropped & Nashville returned to its contemporary format. I'm sure that this soundtrack helped to win some new fans for traditional music, but not as many as the Coen brothers would like.
a lovely mix of traditional music - By: Alejandra Vernon, 04 Nov 2003 Performed by some of today's best singers, this multi-Grammy Award winner is a marvelous addition to any country/folk music collection. Some of these artists are at the top of their field, but some will be "discoveries" for most of us, like the beautiful rendition of "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" by Chris Thomas King, a versatile young man who is versedin many styles, & here singsin the old blues tradition & does it brilliantly.
The highlights for me are: The legendary Ralph Stanley, with his plaintive acappella chant of "O Death", which carries with it all the pain & soul of Appalachia, & the purity of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys, who consist of Union Station member Dan Tyminsky on lead vocals & guitar, backed by Harley Allen & Pat Enright. For anyone who likes traditional music, you can't get any better than this.
Another acappella gem is "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby", with Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, & Gillian Welch harmonizing like an angels from another era. Everything on this disc recalls days gone by; there is a refreshing simplicity, & a lot of the songs are filled with faith.
There is exquisite musicianship on this CD, & it is a nice long one at 60'34 minutes. The booklet insert is something I appreciate too; it is a collage of yellowed stained paper on peeling walls, with a terrific layout, & as it says on one of its pages, "Old-Time Music Is Very Much Alive".
oh brother where art thou - By: A C Muir, 13 Jul 2002 first class traditional country & a bit of bluegrass. represents excelent value for money. so many good tracks its hard to pick one that shines above the rest.listen to YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE by norman blake if you are not tapping your toes then someone has nailed your feet to the floor.then there's I'm a man of constant sorrow-Soggy bottom boys Wow!then for a real treat try The Stanley Bros. Angel Band Traditional country at its best. many other great tracks from Alison Krauss the queen of country & the Whites with keep on the sunny side,backings are fantastic. This is one CD you won't be dissapointed with
GREAT ALBUM . . . BUT TRY BEFORE YOU BUY - By: J. C. Bailey, 06 Jun 2002 Let me make one thing clear. "O Brother..." is one of my favourite films of all time. Not only that, but the musical soundtrack is one of its strongest features & stands as a valuable cultural documentin its own right. In short, this is an album that anyone who loves country, bluegrass or folk music is likely to wantin their collection.
So why, as I write, am I tossing up whether to only give it four stars? The answer is that I'm attempting to review it, not as a collector's item or a socio-historical document but as an album of music for repeated listeningin the comfort of your own home. For that reason I'm not going to review the film rather than the album, as some reviewers here have done, because I don't assume that every listener is going to have the movie playing backin their heads as they listen to the music.
Rather, my comments are based on how this album will sound to someone who has picked up on the hearsay, or watched the Grammy ceremony, & is tempted to go out & buy this as a musical compilation. Andin that setting, many listeners are going to be disappointed. The fact that a song has integrity, emotion, historical importance or great musicianship doesn't automatically make it great entertainment.
There are some standout contributions: The title song is long-term loveable (although why four different renditions of the tune are needed on the album is a mystery - a couple of the "period" instrumental versions which work well on the movoe soundtrack are somewhat less successful as pure listening music. Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch are as usual faultless. Ralph & the other Stanleys are devastating. But how many times will you want to listen to the 4+ minutes of prison chant that opens the album? Or the squeaky kiddy song (the Peasalls)? Or the ancient ditties like "Big Rock Candy Mountain"? After a couple of spins, you may find yourself reaching for the skip button more than is comfortable.
I'm not really knocking this record -in a sense it's a masterpiece. And it's rightly selling by the millions. But if you haven't seen the film I'd give it a whirlin the listening booth before you part with your cash.
