5 comments about Legacy.

1. Doc Watson is without doubt one of the best guitarist in the world in the area of folk/bluegrass music. Above that, he is a genuine lovable down to earth person and it is a real joy to hear him tell the stories on this album. I've been a Doc Watson fan since first hearing him play about 1973 and I never get tired of listening to his brilliant guitar playing or his wonderful vocals. A true American icon, I can't get enough of him. This ablum is truly special because of the interviews that seem to bring him into your living room. Love it!



2. Doc Watson & David Holt are two living legends of old-time Appalachian and Roots music. This is a awesome collection of our American Heritage through the traditional music of the mountains. Doc tells how he lost his sight at a young age. David Holt tells many storied of the old timers and their love of music spread through music called, "oral tradition."



3. This review is meant to point out that this 3 CD set is made up of a lot of spoken word interviews. Folks should know what they are buying since this set is fairly expensive. I love Doc Watson, he is a national treasure. I saw him live with David Holt awhile back, it was a very enjoyable evening, just as this set is if you are in the mood for the wondrous stories behind the man and his experiences. Think of it as a superb podcast, if you are going on a road trip and want stories and music, this is an excellent choice. But, if you are looking for just music, you might be frustrated. Most of the songs have talking as part of the cut, so if you tire of hearing the stories and just want music, you might be better served by Doc's many other great discs. I particularly like "Elementary Doctor Watson" and the two fer "Live & Pickin' / Doc And The Boys."



4. Legacy showcases the legendary life and work of Doc Watson in this three-disc collection featuring a concert CD with Grammy-Award Winter David Holt. Two the CDs of songs and conversation look back over Doc's 79 years in a informative and solidly entertaining presentation. The discs comprising this unique and highly recommended collection include Beginnings (18 songs ranging from Cousin Sally Brown and Deep River Blues, to Beaumont Rag and Freight Train); A Life In Music (16 selections ranging from Sittin' on Top of the World and Down the Road, to The Tennessee Stud, and Tom Dooley); and The Legacy Concert (18 cuts ranging from Shady Grove and Old Molly Hare, to Don't Get Weary and Stand By Me). Legacy would make a superb addition to any music library collection and is a "must" for the legions of Doc Watson fans everywhere.



5. Wow. How did I miss this guy for the past few decades?!?!? I love blues music, and traditional blues led me in a roundabout way to Doc Watson. Anyone who loves music with a FEELING should buy this album. He has one of the smoothest, most soulful guitar styles I've ever heard. He can play harp with the best of them and he plays a mean banjo as well! His stories about his life in music are priceless. This is easily one of the best CD collections I've purchased in a long, long time.

2 comments about The Vanguard Years.

1. Blind singer/guitarist/banjo and harmonica player and, not least, songwriter, Arthel "Doc" Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina on March 2, 1923, and his son Merle (named after Merle Travis who also appears in this box-set in the previously-unreleased tracks in disc 4) came into the world in North Carolina on February 8, 1949. Together, father and son (who also sings and plays banjo) had two minor Country hit singles, both for United Artists, the first coming in 1973 with a # 71 cover of The Fireballs' 1968 Hot 100 hit, Bottle Of Wine b/w Corrina, Corrina on United Artists 276, and the other in 1978 with a cover of the 1963 Peter, Paul & Mary hit, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, which went to # 88 b/w Under The Double Eagle on United Artists 1231.
   
   But Doc Watson's music was never about hit singles. His simple singing style, alternating between ballads, rags and blues, often only involving himself and his masterful flat-picking guitar playing, is the embodiment of that stripped-down off-shoot of Country known loosely as Country-Folk. Like its "high-lonesome" cousin Bluegrass, Country-Folk rarely employs drums when more than one instrument is involved, relying instead on fiddles, guitars, banjos and harmonicas. And in this marvelous and definitive box-set, all recorded at Vanguard Records between 1963 and 1971, Doc is joined by these artists:
   
   Disc 1 - track 3 - "clawboard" banjo picker Clarence Ashley; track 4 - banjo player Arnold Watson; track 5 - fiddler (and father-in-law( Gaither Carlton; tracks 7, 8 and 9 - guitarist Clarence White (born Clarence LeBlanc and a one-time member of Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels);
   
   Disc 2 - tracks 1, 3 and 4 - son Merle; track 14 - banjo player Don Stover (one-time Blue Grass Boy with Bill Monroe);
   
   Disc 3 - tracks 3, 4 and 5 - guitarist Clint Howard and fiddler Fred Price; track 14 - son Merle;
   
   Disc 4 - tracks 1 to 6 - Country Music Hall Of Famer Merle Travis; tracks 7 to 17 - son Merle.
   
   The sound varies from track to track, as they were compiled from studio sessions over a wide period and, naturally, the live cuts on disc 4, some from his many appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, are the least defined. An insert contains liner notes by the noted compilation producer and annotator Mary Katherine Aldin.



2. September 5, 1998

   Doc Watson, the Vanguard Years has to be one of the all time great Recording Collection. It was done at a time when Folk Music was getting out to the general public, and there is no greater Folk Guitarist and Singer than Doc Watson.

   Here is Doc at his very best, alone on the first three discs. His Intoxicated Rat is so funny. Deep River Blues is great finger style guitar, along with Doc's singing.

   13. Country Blues 14. Black Mountain Rag 15. Doc's Guitar

   These cuts are some of the most wonderful solo guitar playing you have ever heard.

   13. Streamline Cannonball 14. Old Camp Meeting Time 15. I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes

   Great old country, so old they are really folk music. And Doc singing, his guitar playing, just him alone, you will never forget.

   7. Brown's Ferry Blues 8. Spike Driver Blues 9. Roll On Buddy 10. I Am A Pilgrim 11. Wabash Cannonball 12. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms

   If you missed Doc Singing and picking these songs, you would have missed so very much.

   Doc Watson is one of the most gifted musicians of our times. His musicianship is showcased in a combination of his picking and singing.

   Doc is not just a country boy, though he is that. Doc listened to all kinds of music, including Black Blues singers and big bands. He can play the country tunes with such great feeling, and he can play very sophisticated Jazz.

   I saw Doc Watson with Doctor John in University City Missouri. They were great as solo artists, then they played a show together, country, blues, and jazz. It was pure artistry. To bad these two great artists have never recorded together.

   Though Doc Watson is good with a large band, he is in my opinion the best when he is solo, which he is on three of these disks. Someone at Vanguard saw his great artistry as a solo act and exploited it, to its utmost degree, in these three great CDs. Thank goodness, for this great exploitation. What would we have done without these recordings?

   I bought the Vanguard album, "Doc Guitar," before 1965. All the songs on that album are in these three CDS that you get with the boxed set.

   With these three solo CDs, you get Doc with his son Merle, named after Merle Travis, Doc's most admired Guitar Player. Doc and Merle traveled together, after Merle grew up. Merle flew a private owned plane, owned by Doc. This way the two could jump around the Country without being on the Road all the Time.

   Merle was killed a few years ago while driving a tractor on his farm. Doc grieved much, but he went on. Doc has a music festival each year named for his beloved son, Merle Watson.

   Doc Watson now appears with a two other musicians: another guitar player who Doc swaps licks with; a bass player. Doc does little Solo Work on Recordings anymore. Vanguard preserved the great solo work of Doc Watson for all time. If you love old time Country Music, great flat picking, and/or great finger style guitar, order this four CD set today. You will love it.

   By the Dobroman in Denver

3 comments about Rounder Records 25th Anniversary.

1. Soundscape of incomparable depth and breadth - miles of music - full of suprises - used it as the soundtrack for my big L party - no one went away dissapointed - listen to it again and again and find some new delight every time - the booklet was missing on my copy but them lovely folks at Rounder sent me one through the post after I told them about it.



2. Rounder Records has done at least four "25th Anniversary" sets, and this box set includes four of the sets. I first discovered the Rounder sets when I bought "Hand-Picked 25 Years of Bluegrass on Rounder Records." I've given that set to several people as an introduction to Bluegrass.
   
   This box set includes the following CDs that are also available on Amazon.
   
   Hills of Home: 25 Years of Folk Music
   Louisiana Spice: 25 Years of Louisiana Music
   Deep Blue: 25 Years of Blues on Rounder Records
   Hand-Picked: 25 Years of Bluegrass on Rounder Records
   
   This set is a good value and a great selection of american music.



3. This is eight CD's (plus bonus if you have what I have) of great American folk/blues/bluegrass/zydeco. Rounder has done it year in and year out better than any. Let them choose the songs. There are many favorites here for me: When God Dips his Pen of Love into my Heart, Never Will Give Up, We Believe in Happy Endings, and I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent). I heartily recommend this set. Every CD is worth a listen and will contain a treasure. Depending on your taste, several will be listened to whole again and again. Way to go Rounder!!

4 comments about A Link in the Chain.

1. Pete Seeger is an extremely difficult artist to quantify. He is beyond doubt a notable musician and a still more notable music historian; he is the author of such memorable pieces as "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and introduced the song "We Shall Overcome" to the civil rights movement; he possesses an attractive voice of solid range and scope. Even so, one does not really think of Seeger as any of these things, much less as a recording artist or a concert artist. He's the guy that shows up to play guitar at your kid's birthday, where he leads everybody in "Michael Row The Boat Ashore."
   
   The trick, of course, is that if you know the song "Michael Row The Boat Ashore," you know it because Pete Seeger popularized it. Born in 1919, Seeger became interested in folk music in the 1930s--and from then to now he simply keeps rolling forth with it, pulling song after song into public view, making them a visible part of our musical landscape and combining them with politics, social movements, education, and all the rest. Indeed, the scope of his musical accomplishments is so vast and so incredibly influential that you'd need a fifty CD box set to encompass them.
   
   A LINK IN THE CHAIN, which consists of two CDs, is therefore rather hard pressed to keep up--particularly since the recordings involved are pretty much exclusive to the 1960s, long after the fame of The Weavers, long before the popularity of such songs as "Little Boxes." Even so, it does manage to give a very good overview of what the fuss was all about. Each CD is divided into two general parts. Disk One offers "Tall Tales and Stories" and "Songs of Freedom;" Disk Two offers "Saints, Sinners, and Just Plain Folks" and "For The Children."
   
   "Tall Tales and Stories" offers a few amusing, lightweight songs, with the charming "Get Up and Go" and "Never Marry an Old Man" cases in point--but it really isn't as whimsical as you might expect. "My Oklahoma Home" is indeed witty, but the dust-bowl humor is rueful indeed; "Waist Deep In The Big Muddy," of course, is famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) as a musical protest of the Vietnam War. The pieces under "Songs of Freedom," however, are what you might expect, ranging from the classic "This Land is Your Land" to such civil rights-era anthems as "Keep Your Eyes On The Prize" and "Oh Freedom."
   
   It is really on the second disk that we find Seeger's whimsical edge. "Saints, Sinners, and Just Plain Folks" are primarily narrative songs, songs that tell stories about individuals. Some are dark indeed, such as "The Cowboy's Lament," but others are wickedly clever, with "Aimee Semple McPherson"--a somewhat true story of a famous woman preacher who went astray--a case in point. And then we have "For The Children," songs that are really as much for grown ups as for kids. And yes, it does include "Michael Row The Boat Ashore."
   
   Seeger was famous for encouraging his audiences to sing along, and while many of these songs are studio recordings, quite a few of them show him in action before a live audience, calling to the audience to join in on the parts they know in classic folk song "hootenanny" style. It's all good stuff, but I must confess to a favorite: "My Name Is Lisa Kalvelage," a first person narration that describes the growing sense of honesty and integrity in a woman who was a child in Germany during World War II. Truly knock out stuff. Seeger's live performance of "Guantanamera" is also equally fine, as is "Hobo's Lullaby."
   
   There are so many Seeger recordings available today that it is hard to know where to begin, and in truth if you're unfamilar with his work you'd probably do best to make your first purchase a more obvious title--a single disk "best of" collection would probably do the trick. But if you want to go a bit further, A LINK IN THE CHAIN is an excellent choice.
   
   GFT, Amazon Reviewer



2. These CDs feature a host of wonderful songs from different albums. A great introduction to Pete Seeger.



3. Just listened to the album. All the songs are great. One of my all time favourite albums.It is a must have for all folk music fans. Of course after listening to this album I will be buying the 2 CD-We shall Overcome (Live at Carnegie Hall) album. His songs are timeless. It does not matter whatever is your age to enjoy his music. The 60's,70's--2002 every decade is representated in his songs. Moreover in these troubled times of terrorism ,etc. his lyrics are very evocative and thought provoking.Do buy it and share the music of the legend called Peter Seeger. Whether we are in US,Africa,Asia,Europe,Australia,etc. his music has a common link for all of us.Long live Pete Seeger and his music.
   In my country India,many singers have influenced by his music and have expressed Pete Seeger as an influencing factor for their songs. eg. Dr.Bhupen Hazarika, Suman Chattopadhayay,Calcutta Youth Choir,etc. Oh yes, we have a very popular song in Hindi called"Hum Honge Kaamyab".In Bengali "Aamra Korbo Joy" .Both are "We shall Overcome" in Indian Language. God bless Pete Seeger.



4. pete seeger actually got a contract with a major label thru the 1960s, and these are a selection of some of the best of those recordings. sad to say, only a few of the actual albums are now available on cd, so if you dont buy this set, you will have to hunt down much of this on old scratchy lps. while artistically not always in a league with seeger's folkways recordings, the sound on these songs is vastly superior, and pete is never bad. i would recommend you buy this set tho only AFTER buying the complete recording (on 2 cds) of the 1963 "we shall overcome" concert, several of the cuts of which appear here. BUY IT!

5 comments about The Capitol Years.

1. I love the Kingston Trio and I have several sets of their CD's. The sound quality in these 4 CD's wasn't as good as in my other sets. However, as I said, I love the Trio and this set has a lot of songs that I don't have in my other sets and if you are as big a fan as I am, this set is still very enjoyable.



2. How can Capitol release a collection of this scope and not include The Merry Minuet and Billy Goat Hill? Very disappointing.



3. This is one of my favorite albums, and one of the greatest box sets ever from arguably the greatest folk group the US ever produced. All the Trio's beloved songs are here, and there are some fine, gorgeous rarities (there are many live songs here, like Reuben James and They Call the Wind Maria, that are positively gorgeous and wonderful). The whole set is wonderful, with rarely a dull moment. Even the radio jingles for 7 Up are really fun to listen to. The song Tom Dooley is here, and despite having listened to it over and over and over again, it still haunts me and it's still a wonderful, quinessential folk ballad. This is a real treasure of a set. Anyone who loves American folk music and The Kingston Trio should pick this set up.



4. I gave this collection an average rating. I believe that there are too many tracks that are below the standard that I expect from this group.
   
   I believe that advertising jingles should not be included in an album.



5. This is a fine collection of some of the best songs by one of the best Folk groups of the folk age.

5 comments about Best of Broadside 1962-1988.

1. on my website a page referring to the Broadside Ballads is one of the oldest pages archived. at last i got this interesting volume of American Folk Ballads as a songbook with comments and more examples to listen to and learn from to inspire ones own musical road.
   
   JohPWilbrand



2. I am very pleased with this anthology of folk songs from the 60's to the 80's. There are artists I haven't heard in years; there are songs I haven't heard before. The collection covers nearly 30 years of thought-provoking folk music by well-known and little-known singers. I thoroughly enjoy these CDs.



3. This collection of music is incredible - I have enjoyed every song...from hearing Phil Ochs to Peter La Farge and then some!!!!I thank these folks for compiling this collection - I used to read Broadside in Cambridge Massachusetts which was a similar publication and am thankful that no one has forgotten the spirit of the times!!! The music is very beautiful and topical....Thanks again Sis and Gordon!!!!



4. I am sure I would have loved The Best of Broadside even if had been less innovatively packaged, but the scrap-book format is an excellent idea, and the essays, notes, lyrics and discographies leave nothing to be desired. (I have to confess, though, that I'm a wee bit concerned about the way the CDs are housed - I'm not too hot on the idea of jewel boxes, so their absence doesn't bother me, but some sort of protective sleeves for the discs would probably have been useful.) The real treasure, of course, is contained in the five discs, with their broad range of topical songs from Broadside recordings supplemented by a handful of appropriate tracks from other sources as well as a sprinkling of previously unreleased numbers. The likes of Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs are well represented and there are a number of fascinating contributions from the young Bob Dylan - but even more valuable are the songs by artists whose works would be hard to come by elsewhere, such as Sammy Walker, Len Chandler, the Rev Kirkpatrick, Thom Parrott and even Sis Cunningham herself. This box set is a worthy, loving and superbly produced tribute to Broadside magazine. And as a slice of American social history that captures the spirit of the times, it is absolutely indispensable - both on its own, and as a companion volume to the exhaustive (but less affordable) Songs For Political Action. Don't think twice - just get a-hold of it!



5. This is one of the classic box sets of all times and is most definitely a "celebration of songwriters and their songs." It is thoroughly researched, contains a stellar collection of the classic songs that defined the times, and is presented in a wonderfully creative format that captures the spirit of the Broadside magazine. The 89 cuts on the 5 CD's are a treasure trove of songs by all the well-known and lesser known folk heroes of this very special time. Be prepared to spend many enjoyable hours listening to some of the finest early recordings from Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, and many others.

   I ordered this set sight unseen, and I was not really expecting to be blown away by it. I currently own a number of Bear Family box sets and other Smithsonian sets. If I arranged all these sets by quality, this set would not only be at the top, but would be a good distance beyond that. The couple of friends I have shown it to have echoed my feelings. In fact, I am seriously considering ordering two more sets before they go out of print in order to stash them away for my future grandchildren.

   Even if this set were selling in the $100+ range, this set would still be a phenomenal bargain!

1 comments about All the Classic Releases 1937-1949.

1. Very nice collection for a very good price. It's chronologically ordered, disc A is Bill & Charlie Monroe 1936; disc B is Bill & Charlie 1937-38; disc C is 1940-46; disc D is 1946-49. So from second half of disc C it's really Bluegrass with the Bluegrass Boys (including Flatt & Scruggs until the split after 1946).

   I give this set 5 stars, although it's not 100% complete. I'm sure the Bear Family box set (Blue Moon of Kentucky 1936-1949 - 6 CDs; I don't have it) is more complete with probably more accurate liner notes, but it's also 5 times more expensive. So part of the stars are for getting so much for so little money.

   If you want to have a nice collection of early Bill Monroe, get this set!

2 comments about Wasn't That a Time!.

1. Little did I know when I was growing up listening to the Smothers Brothers do their versions of "Tzena Tzena," "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," and "Marching to Pretoria" that the boys were doing songs they had learned from the Weavers. Now I know that even if you ignored the folk music revival you have probably heard songs the Weavers were doing in the 1950s, albeit by different names. You might not recognize "Wimoweh," but you have heard a version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," while "Wreck of the John B." is probably more familiar as "Sloop John B." But it is folk artists such as Peter, Paul & Mary that have kept alive a lot of the songs the Weavers made popular (e.g., "If I Had a Hammer").
   
   The Weavers were Pete Seeger, tenor and banjo; Ronnie Gilbert, alto; Lee Hays, baritone and bass; and Fred Hellerman, baritone and guitar. "Wasn't That a Time: The Best of the Weavers" is one of several solid collections of the songs this seminal folk group made popular. This 22-track collection should not be confused with the larger box set also entitled "Wasn't That a Time." Still, this has the core songs that are on anybody's short list of Weavers songs, which would be the ones mentioned above plus "On the Top of Old Smokey," "Goodnight Irene," "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," "The Midnight Special," "Rock Island Line," "Lonesome Traveler," and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Really, the only song that I can say is missing that would be on my list is "Follow the Drinking Gourd," but that is not enough to quibble and if that song is high up on your list keep looking because it is out there to be found.
   
   The other part of the equation is that this collection offers some other songs by the Weavers that do not pop up as often, such as "Around The Corner (Beneath The Berry Tree)," "Old Paint (Ride Around Little Dogies)," and "Along the Colorado Trail," all of which serve to remind you how subversive this group was and why they were denounced as Communist sympathizers (I find it interesting that the Weavers were also denounced by the left for being sellouts at the same time they were being viewed with suspicion by the right because of their politics). Unfortunately, if you are hoping to hear what all the fuss was about in terms of the political controversy, forget about it. For that you probably have to check out the solo recordings of Seeger, who would continue to be political thorn in the side of the system for some time to come.



2. This 4 CD set covers the gamut of the Weavers career, and contains versions of just about all the hit songs that are associated with them. While disk 3 that features Erik Darling in place of Pete Seeger is a bit weaker, if you want a smattering of all phases of their career, this is the definitely the set to get. The booklet that comes with this set contains recent interviews with the (surviving) Weavers, and is also worthwhile.

   If you already know that you like (or love) the Weavers, than I would say Go for It!

No comments about Bluegrass 1959-1969.

5 comments about American Roots Music.

1. My wife and I had been eyeing this boxset for a few years now and she finally broke down and got it for me this past holiday season. It's a nice mix of country, blues, gospel, cajun/zydeco, tejano and native American. Overall, the box set is excellent. I don't think there is a bad tune on there, but I do feel it felt short on gospel, folk, cajun, zydeco, tejano and native American styles. There's only about 6 or 7 tracks for each of those styles where an entire 16-19 track disc is dedicated to both country and blues. The set should have been 6 discs instead or it should have been limited to just country and blues. Likewise, I felt it strange that an American Roots boxset included no jazz, for jazz is the only true first American born music, which is based on the blues of course. It's a great collection though and I enjoy listening to it every time. The long wait was worth it. I highly recommend it.



2. The PBS American Roots Music series - both the 4 part documentary on DVD and 4 CD boxed set - is a commendable work. It is an incredible education in not only popular American music and culture, but history, and should be required viewing and listening in high schools.

   Many of the problems in American Society and its youth today stem from a complete lack of pride and self-awareness. A quick survey of popular music and culture reveal a frightening level of ignorance of America's history, values, and ideals. In short, while the series focusses on America's musical traditions, it does a fantastic job of conveying a sense of America's "roots" in a positive, enriching manner.

   The DVD documentary strikes a perfect balance between glossing over, and becoming bogged down in, the material. Unlike the Ken Burns' projects that exhaust the viewer's interest and collapse under their own weight, the series is informative and educational, yet entertaining. It is not MEANT to be an exhaustive treatise on the subject - and so some reviewers here are missing the point - that would take 40, not 4, episodes. Rather, it is an introduction and a sampler; peaking our curiosity and prompting us to investigate and research further the wonderful heritage of music out there. And in that, it succeeds marvelously.

   What also impressed me was the documentary's remarkable objectivity. While it eschews political correctness, it doesn't necessarily candy coat anything either. What it does do is present the material in a respectful, thoughtful, intelligent, and unbiased manner - something so lacking in today's political and social discourse. So in this sense, folks looking for something with an "agenda" - conspiracies, skeletons in the closet, and historical revisionism - may be disappointed by the documentary.

   The CD boxed set is equally well-done: a fantastic booklet, thorough liner notes, and collection of songs that is a music lover's dream. Again, it is intended to be a sampler - great songs by landmark artists - not an exhaustive account of American Roots music. And also like the documentary, its meant to be a enriching, uplifting - not deconstructing - experience.

   If the series has a shortcoming, it is the absence of one of the major "roots" - Jazz - which was no doubt and most unfortunately excluded, because of the recent Ken Burns' PBS documentary. But to exclude Jazz from the discussion of American Roots music, means we do not have the entire picture. And so in that sense, the series is somewhat flawed.

   Still, its hard to find any other fault with the series. This is a work that TRULY embraces and celebrates America's cultural diversity. Entertaining and enlightening, I would heartily recommend owning the box set and DVD for one's own edification as well as a way to help introduce friends and family to REAL American music - in all its forms.




3. An Awsome Collection Of Hard To Find Roots Music In A Box
   Set Thats Worth The Money



4. Excellent collection, except I wish they could have picked another B.B. King tune than the overrated "The Thrill Is Gone."



5. One doesn't envy anyone charged with the task of assembling a collection of essential recordings in America's many folk and vernacular genres. As such things go, American Roots Music is decent enough, though inevitably anyone who knows the music will wonder at the omissions (for example, of Dock Boggs or any of the classic old-time string bands). Perhaps the major problem here is that the four discs encompass such a range of styles that they can hardly begin to do justice to any one of them. The serious listener will already have much of this in his or her collection. Of course it's not exactly a painful sacrifice to hear "Waiting for a Train," "Uncle Pen," "Black Snake Moan," "Cross Road Blues," or any of a number of other warhorses, yet again. I was least familiar with the music on Disc #4 (Cajun/Zydeco/Tejano/Native American) and so enjoyed it the most. A particular treat is Mingo Saldivar's lively version of the old Johnny Cash hit "Ring of Fire." Saldivar doesn't just sing the lyrics in Spanish; he reinvents the melody, making it sound as if "Ring" were always supposed to be a conjunto tune. The disc ends anticlimactically, however, with the inexplicable inclusion of a New-Ageish composition, when a reprise of the wonderful series theme song (a movingly organic rendition of "Worried Man Blues" by performers representing a variety of traditions) would have been a more proper send-off. As a primer set in an unusually attractive package, American Roots Music will do, more or less, but seasoned followers of our homegrown sounds will seek their pleasures elsewhere.