Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 10/30/2001
The latest in a lengthening string of releases designed to benefit from association with the
Coen brothers film
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is this all-girl
bluegrass compilation, which features on its cover the requisite stubbly cornfield and archaic font style. Opportunistic as the packaging may be, there's no arguing with the quality of the content. Generously packed with outstanding performances by women as stylistically disparate as
Hazel Dickens,
Claire Lynch, and
Kathy Kallick,
O Sister is a delightful celebration of several generations of criminally unheralded female
bluegrass artists. The highlights are many, but particular standout tracks include
Rhonda Vincent's rocking
"Lonesome Wind Blues," the hard-edged mountain sound of
Phyllis Boyens (backed up by
Hazel Dickens and
the Johnson Mountain Boys), and the clawhammer banjo-powered
"Comin' Down From God" by the relatively unknown
Carol Elizabeth Jones. The usual suspects are here too, of course, including
Alison Krauss (on the exquisitely gentle and sweet
"Every Time You Say Goodbye") and
the Cox Family (twice). You might buy this one because you feel guilty about the way women have been neglected in the
bluegrass world, but you'll keep coming back to it because the songs are just so dang good.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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