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we had to buy this because a couple of songs have been used in "Sprinboard" English framework.We have enjoyed the diffrent type of music.
Steve Earl has been crossed off a few Christmas Card lists lately because of that whole "American talaban" thing, but this CD was recorded years before all that. The lyrics are amazingly sophisticated for bluegrass and the words to "Kerry Brown" are enough to keep a shrink busy for 2 months. It's really worth listening to if you're a bluegrass fan or want to hear the Del McCoury band without Del singing lead all the time. This CD is a stroke of genius. Steve Earl leverages the superb talents of some of the finest bluegrass musicians in the business and mixes in a hearty dose of his own creative talent to produce this timeless classic.
I particularly love the song with Iris Dement. It's high energy and fun to listen to. I love this album. If you enjoy bluegrass this is a great album to have.
A tremendous CD. If you love Bluegrass, you will love Steve Earle teaming up with the Del McCoury Band on these original bluegrass songs. If you love songs about coal mining, "Harlan Man" and "The Mountain" are two of the best ever written - instant classics.
The hillbilly murder ballad "Carrie Brown" is one classic; "Dixieland" is another; and the closing "Pilgrim"--which most reviewers singled out for praise--is yet another. In other words, it's timeless. "My primary motive in writing these songs," Steve wrote in a press release for this disc, "was both selfish and ambitious--immortality. That said, for me The Mountain peaks with "I'm Still In Love with You," a duet with Iris DeMent that sounds--like the rest of the album--that it could have been recorded 30, 40 years ago. "Does it show when my poor heart skips a beat each and every time we meet." Steve sings, and then there's Iris' vocal, that Kentucky waif-like wail that's the audio equivalent of wine: The more you hear it, the more you like it. I wanted to write just one song that would be performed by at least one band at every bluegrass festival in the world long after I have followed Mr. Bill [Monroe] out of this world." The songs certainly should pass that test.
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