Down From the Mountain: Live Concert Performances by the Artists & Musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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...Read more

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...Read more

While here has to be a hint of crass commercialism in the decision to release this CD given the success of the "O Brother" soundtrack the end result is still a boon for the listener and a continuation of the celebration of a very important musical style. This CD is a great adjunct to the soundtrack CD and introduces some new songs as well as different versions of songs found on the soundtrack CD. Songs like "Wild Bill Jones" and "I want to sing that Rock and Roll" capture the listener's attention with their strong melodies and crafted lyrics. Chris Thomas King's version of "John Law burned down the liquor sto'" highlights his blues talents and adds a needed depth to the selection of songs offered on this CD. For longtime fans there is much here that they will enjoy. To the neophyte listener who has just discovered this style of music through these CD's, this set of live recordings (with introductions by Holly Hunter) will further entrance them...Read more