I Want To Sing That... - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Sandy Land - The Whites
John Law Burned... - CT King/C. Linden
Green Pastures - E. Harris
I'll Fly Away - Gillian Welch & Alison Krauss
Country music reclaimed its traditional soul with the chart-topping triumph of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. This concert sequel, recorded (and filmed) at Nashville's venerable Ryman Auditorium, reunites Emmyl... more »ou Harris, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and other O Brother standouts. With little duplication, the selection extends the movie's revival of acoustic spirituals and Appalachian balladry, though the performances and pacing of the concert aren't quite as consistently compelling as the studio soundtrack. Among the highlights are a pair of originals by Welch and David Rawlings, the bluesy "Dear Someone" and the Everlyesque "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll." Where O Brother interspersed archival recordings among the contemporary artistry, the concert finds Nashville gospel's Fairfield Four harmonizing on the chain-gang chant of "Po' Lazarus," while the late John Hartford (in one of his final performances) renews the deadpan whimsy of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." --Don McLeese« less
Country music reclaimed its traditional soul with the chart-topping triumph of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. This concert sequel, recorded (and filmed) at Nashville's venerable Ryman Auditorium, reunites Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and other O Brother standouts. With little duplication, the selection extends the movie's revival of acoustic spirituals and Appalachian balladry, though the performances and pacing of the concert aren't quite as consistently compelling as the studio soundtrack. Among the highlights are a pair of originals by Welch and David Rawlings, the bluesy "Dear Someone" and the Everlyesque "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll." Where O Brother interspersed archival recordings among the contemporary artistry, the concert finds Nashville gospel's Fairfield Four harmonizing on the chain-gang chant of "Po' Lazarus," while the late John Hartford (in one of his final performances) renews the deadpan whimsy of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." --Don McLeese
John D. from FARMERS BRNCH, TX Reviewed on 7/29/2006...
Just not as good as the sound track for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
CD Reviews
Not as good as the soundtrack, but still worth the money!
Kori Frazier | Kent, OH United States | 08/15/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"After three years of being dominated by mediocre, middle of the road pop singers with only marginal talent, country music was finally given a wakeup call with the unexpected success of the O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU soundtrack. The double platinum soundtrack has become one of the most successful albums of the year, and has proved to Nashville that the roots of country music are still thriving.DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN is the companion to the hugely popular soundtrack. Recorded live in Nashville in May, 2000, the album features several of the songs made popular by O BROTHER, as well as many songs recorded by the artists from the soundtrack. While it lacks the variety of the first CD, DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN sports several songs that make it a fine album to own, regardless of whether they were on the O BROTHER album or not. Standouts include the Cox Family's "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown," Emmylou Harris's "Green Pastures," Gillian Welch's "I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll," and the Whites' "Sandy Land." DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN closes with Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss's duet of "I'll Fly Away." One of the album's best and most bittersweet moments is the late John Hartford's performance of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Hartford died at age sixty three just a year after the recording was made.While it isn't as long or enjoyable as the O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU soundtrack, DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN is an excellent companion to its prequel. If you enjoyed the soundtrack, you will love this album. Hopefully, DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN, which has already appeared on the country album charts, will do its share in the quest to repopularize bluegrass and traditional country music."
As good as the original soundtrack--highly recommend!
OldBookGuy | Missouri | 01/13/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before "O Brother Where Art Thou?", my exposure to bluegrass music was limited to an occasional trip through Branson, Missouri. But since the film, which led to buying the soundtrack, I'm hooked. Yet, I was skeptical when I stumbled across this CD, Down from the Mountain. I thought one bluegrass CD was pushing it. Furthermore, I saw a few "repeats" on this CD. However, my fears were unfounded--this is a great CD. Even the few "repeats" sound like different songs, as the artists add twists and perform them differently. Most of the CD is pure bluegrass, but there a couple that contrast. "My Dear Someone" and "I Want to Sing that Rock and Roll" add a different element to the concert, and while they complement the others, they are in a league of their own.In short, there's not a dud in the bunch. I highly recommend this CD. If you aren't a bluegrass fan before you listen to this, I think you soon will be afterward."
Better than O Brother itself!
Chris Barnes | Nashville, TN | 10/12/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I purchased this album the first week it was released becuase it featured three of my favorite artists, The Whites, Emmylou Harris, and Alison Krauss and I have found this album to be even BETTER than the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack! Emmylou Harris offers a fantastic version of 'Green Pastures' with Gillian Welch on harmony. The Whites perform an old tune 'Sandy Land' with Sharon White's amazing vocals on lead! Alison Kraus & Union station have two songs on the album, the first is 'Wild Bill Jones' with Krauss's band member Dan Tyminski on lead vocals, the second tune from Alison is her fantastic 'Blue & Lonesome'. Gillian Welch also presents two of her own tunes, with 'I Wanna Sing That Rock & Roll' being the better of the two. The album closes with Gillian & Alison's IBMA award winning 'I'll Fly Away'. The only disappointment on this album is the exclusion of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, who performed on the concert, and is on the video release of the concert. But all in all, this a fantastic album for the bluegrass lover!"
Not As Good As Expected
Mad Dog | TimbuckThree, Tennessee | 01/10/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Having read the glowing reviews on Amazon, I picked this up, with high expectations and was let down by the lack of consistency of the music and the mediocre sound quality. Mind you, my criticisms have nothing at all to do with the musical genre - I love folk blues, blues, bluegrass, newgrass, etc. As an example, I'd prefer the Oh Brother version of "I Am Weary" to this live version and although "I'll Fly Away" comes across pretty well on this live version, I prefer the studio version on the Oh Brother soundtrack. I consider "Wild Bill Jones", "Blue and Lonesome", "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Store" and "I'll Fly Away" to be the only high points on this disc.About the sound quality: Live albums can have exceptional sound but this one does not. For examples of excellent live sound, check out the Weavers at Carnegie Hall and you'll see that it was possible 40 years ago. I'm not trying to say that this disc has horrible sonics, just that they are lower quality than I expected. Modern engineers can pull off excellent live sound on classical (many examples), rock (Zappa and many others) or acoustic music (Hedges), so it's not a limitation of the medium. Maybe the hall this disc was recorded in is difficult to mic?"
Only Half the Story
Diego Banducci | San Francisco, CA United States | 10/27/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This disk does NOT contain all of the songs from the soundtrack of "Down from the Mountain," or even the best ones. What it contains are the songs that did not make the cut for the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" disk. It is a supplement to the first disk.I listened to it before I saw the video of the concert, and was disappointed. Now that I have seen the video (which is absolutely superb), I like the disk better, but as other reviewers have noted, it does not convey the magic of the video. Given a choice between buying the disk or the video, the video is clearly the winner.John Hartford was wonderful in the video, but it's the ladies (especially Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss) who run away with the show.Finally, if you're interested in seeing a live performance like this, Asheville (not Nashville) is the place to see it -- the Asheville, North Carolina folk festival begins every year on the first friday in August, 'long about sundown. The performers (all amateurs) drift down out of the hills with their guitars, fiddles, dulcimers and saws, and augmented by cloggers, put on a show you'll never forget. It's the kind of show John Hartford would have loved."