A Celebration of the American Farm

 (9 customer reviews)

I believe in leaving room for the best of the best, which is why I gave this CD a 4 instead of a 5. Having said that, the ninth track, "Trouble in the Fields" is so good it nearly brought me to tears, and for those who are ready to click on another link, this is NOT country music. A couple of the songs have a country flavor but this collection is largely non-country. Paul Hovda's piano playing is compelling and the recording itself is top-notch.

First off, I'm a traditional musician AND a farmer, so when I found out about this project I was excited about it but not near as excited as I am now that I've heard it. From the elegant understatement of Paul Hovda's piano arrangements to the bust-out blues-grass of Tim O'Brien's "This Old Plow", this recording leaves few musical stones unturned in its attempt to meld various acoustic music genres into a cohesive unit. The coup-de-grace is a pairing of Maura O'Connell, one of the most magnificent voices in any music style, with Nanci Griffith, the premier songwriter/poetess of a generation and a splendid vocalist in her own right. "Trouble in the Fields" message of love and hope in the midst of potential economic collapse moves me deeply, especially when performed by this vocal pairing. I've always been a big fan of Jay Unger (I found out about this album from his web site!) He and companion Molly Mason provide another of my favorite titles with...Read more

This album is just plain amazing, It is very diverse, and it suits every mood you are in! Everything about it is just incredible, definitly a one of a kind album. Every family needs one of these! I highly recommend it!