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14 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mountain music for everybody to enjoy, 22 Aug 2002
Ralph's career spans over half a century, yet this album and it's sequel (Clinch mountain sweethearts, which I've also reviewed) may prove to be his most important legacy.There are four main reasons for the success of this project. 1. Ralph is in remarkably good voice throughout - how many singers of his age could you say that about?. 2. His musicians are in top form, providing a bluegrass backing leaning towards traditional country. 3. Traditional country and bluegrass were not fashionable at the time, so this album was a total contrast to, and a refreshing change from, mainstream country. I love mainstream country too, but I also like the traditional music. 4. Because the music was unfashionable, nobody expected this to be a big seller, so all the guests were there to enjoy themselves, and it shows in the music. The choice of songs is excellent, although I'm not sure why they chose to include Christmas songs (Beautiful star of Bethlehem with Connie Smith and Bright morning star with Kathy Mattea) - I love Christmas music, but I prefer it to be on separate CD's. Still, that's a minor point. Your favorite tracks are likely to depend on who are your favorite guests. Bluegrass is well represented (of course), while there are several mainstream country singers, past and present. Porter and George's careers are almost as long as Ralph's, while Vince, Patty and Dwight were all at the peak of their careers when this was recorded. The biggest surprise is Bob Dylan. He doesn't usually take part in such projects, but he fits in well. No doubt his inclusion helps to attract some people to this album who would otherwise ignore it. Those who live in the mountains may relate directly to this music, but for those of us who live in cities, this is as good a piece of escapism as we're going to find, now that so much country music has gone uptown. Enjoy this - and Clinch mountain sweethearts too !!!!
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