Search - John Hartford :: Mark Twang

"The River Runs Long After I Am Gone...."

James F Schwartz | Wheaton, Illinois USA | 06/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Hartford passed away two days ago after a long battle with cancer. He was an American original, a great writer, musician, humorist, and archivist. I've owned "Mark Twang" for over 20 years and among all the folk and bluegrass records I have it still stands out as one of the most unique and a great favorite. John playing fiddle, John playing banjo, often while clogging to the rhythm--it is as close as you will come to having somebody play in your house. That was, I think, an essential virtue of his music and why I believe you could learn a lot about American folk music by listening to this album. If the news of John Hartford's passing has compelled you to seek out his recordings, then I believe that you will find yourself richly rewarded for discovering this one."

One of the best individual performances ever!

B. Wall | Jacksonville, FL USA | 01/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album, yes then it was on vinyl, won the grammy for best folk album that year. It was 1976. America was celebrating its 200th birthday. The performance resembles a live radio show format. John wanted it that way. Technically, the sound quality is great and it translated well to CD. John's voice has a very full sound, I feel, better than his later solo albums. The percussion of his foot shuffles and tapping is great. Turn up the volume. The sound engineers captured the percussive sound of John's trademark low tuned banjo.

"Don't leave your records in the sun", now on its own is nostalgic. It is just as nostalgic as the album itself. It is ironic that just as John was looking back on the Mississippi steamboat history, I'm looking back fondly at a great performance that has, in itself, become part of live acoustic music history."

Don't Leave Your Records In The Sun

Christopher Taylor Rorrer | 06/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1976 album by the legendary John Hartford is among one of the top five CDs in the CD player. This album is fun to listen to, and it resembles a radio show, but I think that is what John was going for. This album features John in a solo setting playing all the instruments. Classic stuff."