Various Artists - Bluegrass Blue Ridge / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Stemming from a want to preserve the dwindling unique oral traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountain back-country region, Eric Davidson, Paul Newman and Caleb Finch performed field recordings of songs that exemplified the evolution of ballads in the region, creating an anthology of music that characterized the musical mountain traditions. Originating from folk music of the British Isles, many of the songs are performed with little or no instrumental accompaniment. These beautiful archaic folk melodies have retained their roots in the ballad and lament tradition, sung here by both men and women (traditionally ballads were sung only by women) with occasional lively banjo accompaniments. Album Tracks 1. The Hanging of Georgie (Child No. 209)- Sharp 34 2. Returning Sweetheart - Sharp 98 - a Pretty Fair Maid Down in the Garden - the Broken Token 3. Barbry Allen (Barbara Allen) 4. The Young Men and Maids - Sharp 165 - Silver Dagger 5. The Green Willow Tree - Child 286 - Sharp 41 - Golden Vanity 6. Ho Lilly Ho - Sharp 65 - Jack Went A-Sailing - Jack Munro 7. Walkin' in the Parlor 8. Little Sparrow - Sharp 118 - Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies 9. County Jail - Long Lonesome Road 10. Warfare Is A-Raging - Sharp 113 11. Pig in a Pen 12. Roving Ranger - Sharp 179 - Come All Ye Southern Soldiers - the Texas Rangers 13. Pretty Polly - Sharp 49 - the Cruel Ship's Carpenter 14. George Allen - Child 85 - Lady Alice - Sharp 25 - Giles Collins 15. Roving Gambler 16. Ten Thousand Miles - 10,000 Miles - Sharp 114 - the True Lover's Farewell 17. 1809 - Sharp 76 - Pretty Saro 18. Little Maggie 19. Death of the Lawson Family 20. Lonesome Day 21. Budded Roses - Little Bunch of Roses

There's nothing like a healthy does of bluegrass music, much like the 23 songs on this terrific compilation. With the Pike County Boys, Smiley Hobbs and a whole host of other talent, you'll hear some of the finest examples of a genre is timelessly enjoyable. Album Tracks 1. Katy Hill - Tex Logan 2. Katy Cline - Stover, Lilly & Anthony 3. Short Life of Trouble - Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys 4. The Philadelphia Lawyer - Bob Baker and the Pike County Boys 5. Little Willie - Bob Baker and the PCB 6. Leather Britches - Smiley Hobbs 7. Natchez Under the Hill - Tex Logan 8. Old Joe Clark - Yellin, Seeger & Weissberg 9. There Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone - Stover, Lilly & Anthony 10. White House Blues - Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys 11. They're at Rest Together - Earl Taylor and the SMB 12. Foggy Mountain Top - Earl Taylor and the SMB 13. Nine Pound Hammer - Smiley Hobbs 14. Cricket on the Hearth - Anthony and Stover 15. New River Train - Anthony, Seeger & Yellin 16. Fox Chase - Earl Taylor & the SMB 17. Feast Here Tonight - Bob Baker & the PCB 18. Snow Dove - Bob Baker & The PCB 19. Drifting Too Far from the Shore - Bob Baker & the PCB 20. Rocky Run - Stuart, Kuykendall, Hobbs & Gray 21. Bile 'Em Cabbage Down - Stover, Lilly & Anthony 22. All the Good Times Have Past and Gone - Earl Taylor and the SMB 23. Sally Ann - Earl Taylor and the SMB

Few states in this country can boast of more diverse folkways than Virginia. Many of the material objects-such as barns, tools, and furniture-reflect the traditions that shaped the lives of it's earliest settlers and the generations of Virginians who followed. The Commonwealth's performance traditions of songs, tunes, and tales also tell of a shared heritage involving all classes of people in every facet of life. Because traditions naturally change over time, the documentation of Virginia folk culture is an ongoing process essential to our understanding of the past, present, and future. By recording the folkways of Virginia, the Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum College and it's BRI Record tag strive to foster a greater appreciation of our folk roots through an array of interpretive programs.