Bands Music

Although listeners under the age of 35 are convinced that today's Nashville overproduced and hypermarketed product is genuine country, this cd is a nifty little collection of the hard-core, no-frills, roots that country grew from. While some names are more known in the Tennessee, Kentucky, cradle-of-the-sound area, the country enthusiast can get a glimpse of the sounds that germinated on the tube-radios of the foot-hills and culminated on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

I always approach compilations with reservations for three reasons: they reprise various artists' top hits which have been reissued to death elsewhere; they include lesser known tunes that deserved to be treated that way; or are selections by lesser known artists doing songs only real fans of the genre may know and the buyer is reluctant to purchase something unfamiliar.

But sometimes the positive side of each of the above happens. This 16-song CD clearly a wonderful example, combining material by several stars along with regional artists who didn't get the acclaim they deserved. All the selections are samples from different Arhoolie releases and the end result is some of the best Bluegrass and traditional country to be heard.

The first family of Country Music, The Carter Family, do their classic "Hello Stranger;" Bluegrass great Del McCoury sours above the rooftops singing "Hey Bartender;" The Maddox Brothers and Rose show why they were the king of the hill on the West Coast in the last 1940's with Rose belting out "George's Playhouse Boogie;" and Sam McGee (one half of the famed McGee Brothers of Grand Ole Opry fame) picking guitar on "The Sam McGee Stomp."

Several examples of the little gems are a live cut of Kenny Baker (of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys fame) fiddling "John Barleycorn;" Banjo legend Snuffy Jenkins (to whom Earl Scruggs and Don Reno pay homage) doing "The Spanish Fandango;" and Suzy & Eric Thompson trading fiddle and guitar licks on a really nice rendition of "The Carroll County Blues."

Highly recommended.

The Pratt brothers have put together one heck of a CD that really swings and burns the charts with their music. Roberta sings like an angel and adds a mellow flavor to what is primarily a contemporary big band sound. One of the best CDs in my collection. Can't get enough, I play it all the time. Highly recommended.

A great upbeat & inventive band with great jazz hooks & vituosity. Roberta sings great-- just wish there was more of her. I highly anticipate her own solo
album later in '05, but this will do in the meantime & the Pratt Brs. deserve a lot
of attention too. Fine stuff IMO.

This is big band swinging at its highest level. The New York musicians are first rate and are led by former Buddy Rich bandsmen Dean and Michael Pratt. Roberta Gambarini, who appears on four cuts, is the best vocalist now in jazz and one of the best female vocalists ever. Be sure not to miss the diatribe in the notes by Dean Pratt about the sorry state of today's popular culture and the culpability of music company executives in this sorry mess.

A five star album.

My mother, age 86, loved this CD. She got a CD player and wanted polka music to play while using her treadmill. She was very impressed with the number of songs included.

My mother, age 86, loved this CD. She got a CD player and wanted polka music to play while using her treadmill. She was very impressed with the number of songs included.