The Watson Family

Amazon.com
This is spine-shivering music of unparalleled authenticity and sincerity. Before Ralph Rinzler ventured to North Carolina to seek out and record old-time musician Clarence Ashley in 1960, Doc Watson played swing and rockabilly on electric guitar. In this moment of great fortune, Rinzler stumbled upon the key to a veritable treasure of traditional music in Watson, his kinfolk, and his neighbors. Soon after, the music of his home, his family, and his childhood began to pour out of Watson. Wife Rosa Lee, father-in-law Gaither Carlton, brother Arnold, and son Merle all contribute as Doc shifts from acoustic guitar (flatpicked and fingerpicked) to banjo to mandolin to autoharp. In the hands of a master and his closest relations, the age-old songs convey delight and despair--in short, reality--with unwavering honesty. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description
The recordings of the Watson Family, the most famous of whom is legendary guitarist Arthel "Doc" Watson, are classic examples of Anglo-American folk tradition. Some of the songs performed here go back many generations’ others were written about recent events. Many members of the Watson family are musical, and this sampling of their rich repertoire includes songs learned at home and in church. Whether through their vocal style or instrumental ability, the Watson family created a musical environment that influenced Doc Watson throughout his career.

This album includes both fifteen songs from 1963 Folkways album of the same title, as well as eleven new cutes on the compact disc and cassette (eight new cuts on the LP) from the original recordings, never before released. New liner notes, written from hours of conversations with Doc Watson and Ralph Rinzler, provide important background on the recording and on Doc Watson’s subsequent musical career.

The Watson Family,Doc Watson & Family,Sfw

Average customer rating: Ring introduction critique FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE Welcome back to a classic analysis Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle Very Functional

An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen Deryck Cooke , Georg Solti , Wiener Philharmoniker , Anita Valkki , Berit Lindholm , Birgit Nilsson , Brigitte Fassbaender , Christa Ludwig , Claire Watson , Claudia Hellmann , Dame Gwyneth Jones , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Eberhard Wächter , George London , Gerhard Stolze , Gottlob Frick , Grace Hoffmann , Gustav Neidlinger , Hans Hotter , Helen Watts , Helga Dernesch , Hetty Plumacher , Ira Malaniuk , James King , Jean Madeira , Joan Sutherland , Kirsten Flagstad , Kurt Böhme , Lucia Popp , Marga Höffgen , Marilyn Tyler , Maureen Guy , Oda Balsborg , Paul Kuen , Régine Crespin , Set Svanholm , Vera Little , Vera Schlosser , Waldemar Kmentt , Walter Kreppel , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | ( V ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baritones | Voices | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti Decoding Wagner: An Invitation to His World of Music Drama (includes 2 CDs) Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle) Ring of the Nibelung ASIN: B00000424H Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

1. Of All Great Musical Compositions... (Examples 1-4)
2. The Fundamental Symbol... (Examples 5-11)
3. Returning Now To The Nature Motive... (Examples 6, 12-16)
4. A Number Of Further Motives... (Examples 5, 17-21)
5. A Second, Much Smaller Family... (Examples 22-25)
6. So Much For Nature. (Examples 26-38)
7. The Cause Of The Deterioration... (Examples 39-44)
8. The Other Transformation... (Examples 45-48)
9. Several Other Motives... (Examples 49-52)
10. Two Further Motives... (Examples 41, 53-61)
11. The Basic Motive Associated With The Spear... (Examples 62-68)
12. Along Another, More Complex Line... (Examples 69-72)
13. In Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 69, 73-75)
14. Returning Now To Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 76-79)
15. Love Is Another Of The Central Symbols... (Examples 80-83)
16. Later In The Same Scene... (Examples 84-87)
17. Freia's Motive Has Two Independent Segments... (Examples 88-91)
18. The Label 'Flight'... (Example 92)
19. When Fasolt, In Scene Two Of Rhinegold... (Examples 93-98)
20. A Little Later In The Interlude... (Examples 99-103)

Tracks:

1. The Other New Motive... (Examples 104-109)
2. There Are Several Independent Love-Motives... (Examples 110-114)
3. The Characters In Whose Lives... (Examples 115-120)
4. One Further Motive Belongs... (Example 121)
5. The Sword Motive Recurs... (Examples 122-130)
6. Ironically, This Phrase... (Examples 131-135)
7. Closely Associated With Gutrune's Motive... (Examples 136-140)
8. Here We Come To The End... (Examples 141-146)
9. Complemtary To This Symbol... (Examples 147-149)
10. One Last Central Symbol... (Examples 150-157)
11. One Further Motive Connected... (Examples 158-161)
12. There Are One Or Two Motives... (Examples 162-168)
13. These Motives Of Alberich And Mime... (Examples 169-171)
14. Quite A Number Of The Subsidiary Motives... (Examples 172-176)
15. Besides This Family Of Motives... (Examples 177-180)
16. Our Final Example... (Examples 10, 181, 182)
17. In The Final Scene Of Gotterdammerung... (Examples 181-183)
18. Even More Masterly... (Examples 184-188)
19. Now If We Return... (Examples 189-191)
20. This Masterly Way... (Examples 192, 193)

Amazon.com

When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

Ring introduction critique.......2006-11-04

This is very worthwhile, at the same time it requires time, patience and attention, but it does provide some keys to better enjoyment of a sensational piece of music.

FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE.......2006-08-16

This may look an intimidating, daunting and dull prospect - a 2+ hour lecture on the motifs in the Ring. Don't be put off. Whether you're a relative novice to the Ring and want to find out what it's all about, more experienced with a desire to understand the composer's methods better or an afficionado who thinks he knows it all inside out, there is great pleasure as well as elucidation to be had from this set. Originally made to accompany the Decca Solti Ring, it contains a multitude of musical illustrations taken from those recordings as well as some specially recorded by Solti just for this Introduction.

It wasn't the first time this has been tried. The famous HMV sets from the late 20's also included recorded examples of over 100 motifs. (These, by the way, are available as part of the Pearl reissue of those wonderful HMV recordings). What that set lacked was the wonderful insights as well as the approachability of the talk by Deryck Cooke. Cooke was a great and much missed musicologist - a Mahler expert responsible for the performing edition of the Tenth Symphony still most played today, a fascinating explorer into the nature of music's basic building-blocks in his excellent book, The Language of Music, and an inspiring and elucidating critic of Wagner's work as shown by the fascinating book he left unfinished at his death, I Saw the World End.

On these CDs he does much more than list the leitmotifs and identify them as calling-cards. He shows the amazingly integrated and organic growth of the musical material that Wagner uses throughout his vast work. He demonstrates how motifs can change their sense and meaning as they evolve through the drama. And he shows how the complex combinations of motifs can radically advance both the musical and the dramatic narrative of the piece. There are even places where he corrects the misinterpretation of some of the motifs that had become ingrained from early commentators' false labels.

This set should engage and enlighten anyone with an interest in Wagner's huge and inexhaustible tetralogy. Do give it a try - no matter how far down the road to Wagnerianism you are.

Welcome back to a classic analysis.......2006-05-28

Deryck Cooke's lecture series upon THE RING is almost as much a classic by now as the Solti RING cycle, with which it was originally issued on LP, and from which it derives its musical examples. The difference is that whereas the Solti RING has been continuously in print ever since it was completed, and was among the first opera sets to benefit from the CD revolution, the Cooke analysis was for long almost totally unobtainable. Now we have it back. It should be welcomed: it is a classic. Cooke's mellow, deep voice with the hint of a Celtic burr - which made him ideal on BBC radio - patiently explains Wagner's melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic metamorphoses to such good effect that if you own this recording, you really require no other RING analysis. (A pity about the abrupt beginnings and endings of too many vocal and orchestral illustrations, though.) Musicology lost a fine, sensitive thinker with Cooke's premature death in 1976.

If all you want is dilettantish baby food, there are plenty of dumbed-down Wagner commentaries on the market, stretching from Anna Russell's famous monologue (which doesn't pretend to be anything other than a parody aimed at morons) to the latest standard-issue "Wagner-was-a-Nazi-boo-hiss" feuilleton (which, unfortunately, does). Without reasonable score-reading skill you will find Cooke useless, however diligently you have ploughed through Marx, Jung, Freud, or other gurus purportedly relevant to THE RING. Cooke expects you to use your brains and your musical sense. Quelle horreur. At today's BBC his "elitism" would render him unemployable.

Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle.......2006-05-15

I originally bought this set on vinyl in the early 70s when I discovered the Ring in college. I studied the records and booklet assiduously, and after about three run-throughs I finally started getting it. Wow! Thirty-five years later, I still remember Mr. Cooke's analyses of various motive families, and I don't know how I could have mastered and loved the Ring without him. I now own this set on CD and listen again on the rare occasion of attending a Ring performance. My wife calls me a "Ring nut," but of course I'm nuts about many other things as well.

Bottom line, buy this set and study it if the Ring has captivated you as it has countless others. The presentation is dry, but sticking with it brings measureless and longlasting rewards.

Very Functional.......2006-03-19

This CD set is excellent for what it sets out to do: present the leitmotives of the Ring according to their relationship to one another and their role in developing both characters and plotlines. Deryck Cooke's lectures on each motive are very insightful, very helpful at cueing the listener into the semantic aspect of Wagner's orchestral writing. The one drawback is that the musical examples are a bit jarring. Without fade-ins or -outs, the engineering is quite barbaric. And though the orchestra was, I believe, conducted by Solti, and is beautifully done, the vocal performances can be quite unpleasant. Point being: this is not background music, but in accomplishing what it sets out to do, it is very successful, and I don't know of anything else like it.

Average customer rating: An absolute gem of the raw and pure beauty of pre-bluegrass You will think you have died and gone to heaven

The Doc Watson Family Doc Watson Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Old-Time Country | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Smithsonian Folkways Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: If I Had My Way Songs From the Southern Mountains The Vanguard Years Clarence Ashley And Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 [2-CD Set] Off The Record, Vol. 2: Live Duet Recordings, 1963-1980 ASIN: B000001DGI Release Date: 1993-09-14

Tracks:

1. Ground Hog
2. Every Day Dirt
3. Bonaparte's Retreat
4. House Carpenter
5. I'm Troubled
6. Your Long Journey
7. When I Die
8. That Train That Carried My Girl
9. Down the Road
10. Lone Pilgrim
11. Texas Gales/Blackberry Rag
12. Darling Corey
13. Triplett Tragedy
14. Muddy Roads
15. Lost Soul
16. Keep in the Middle of the Road
17. Old Man Below
18. Pretty Saro
19. Cousin Sally Brown
20. Look Down That Lonesome Road
21. Doodle Bug
22. Rambling Hobo
23. Cuckoo Bird
24. Frosty Morn
25. Shady Grove
26. Southbound

Amazon.com

This is spine-shivering music of unparalleled authenticity and sincerity. Before Ralph Rinzler ventured to North Carolina to seek out and record old-time musician Clarence Ashley in 1960, Doc Watson played swing and rockabilly on electric guitar. In this moment of great fortune, Rinzler stumbled upon the key to a veritable treasure of traditional music in Watson, his kinfolk, and his neighbors. Soon after, the music of his home, his family, and his childhood began to pour out of Watson. Wife Rosa Lee, father-in-law Gaither Carlton, brother Arnold, and son Merle all contribute as Doc shifts from acoustic guitar (flatpicked and fingerpicked) to banjo to mandolin to autoharp. In the hands of a master and his closest relations, the age-old songs convey delight and despair--in short, reality--with unwavering honesty. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

An absolute gem of the raw and pure beauty of pre-bluegrass.......1998-11-08

Anyone remotely interested in Doc Watson, bluegrass, or early folk/mountain music do not hesitate to buy this album. This cd is as soulful and compelling as any I've ever heard in the genre of mountain music. One can still hear the echo of Celtic/European roots but with the unmistakable earthiness of American Appalaccia. The influence of African blues forms on traditional European folk songs could never be more evident than in this collection. This is Leadbelly meets Bill Monroe meets fourteenth century villages in both Ireland and Africa. Cannot recommend this album enough!

You will think you have died and gone to heaven.......1998-08-07

This CD is old-time country (some call it "mountain" or "traditional") music originally recorded in 1963 (Folkways)and contains all 15 songs from the original release along with 11 new ones. Of all the Doc Watson albums I had, this was the first one I rebought on CD. It brings tears of sorrow and of joy. The music is unrefined, but powerful and clean.

Ground Hog, Bonaparte's Retreat, House Carpenter, I'm troubled, Your Long Journey, When I die, That train the carried my girl from town, down the road, the lone pilgrim, etc. Also has ccukoo bird, shady grove, and southbound -- among other new cuts.

If you think you know country, you might find yourself quite suprised . . .

Average customer rating:

Johnny "Guitar" Watson and the Family Clone Johnny Guitar Watson Manufacturer: Castle Music UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music Texas Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Modern Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000075ZO Release Date: 1996-04-24

Tracks:

1. Clone Information
2. Family Clone
3. Forget the Joneses
4. Ain't Movin'
5. Come and Dance with Me
6. Rio Dreamin'
7. What Is Love
8. Voodoo What You Do

Average customer rating: The one and only "This guy..." Finally, Old Southern Mountain Music As I Remember! The music

Songs From the Southern Mountains Doc Watson & Family Manufacturer: Sugarhill [Country] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Old-Time Country | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Bluegrass | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Doc Watson Family Watson Family Tradition Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City Favorites of Clarence Ashley And Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 [2-CD Set] ASIN: B000000F3Q Release Date: 1994-10-19

Tracks:

1. Rye Cove - Doc Watson
2. Twilight Is Stealing - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Mrs. G.D. Watson
3. Fisher's Hornpipe - Doc Watson
4. Anniversary Blue Yodel (Blue Yodel No. 7) - Doc Watson
5. A Tiny Broken Heart - Doc Watson/Rosa Lee Watson
6. Honey Babe Blues - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton
7. Brown's Dream - Doc Watson/Gaither Carlton
8. When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton/Almeda Riddle
9. My Little Woman, You're So Sweet - Doc Watson
10. Will My Mother Know Me There - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Mrs. G.D. Watson
11. Go Shoot Old Davey Dugger - Doc Watson/Gaither Carlton
12. My Wandering Boy - Rosa Lee Watson/Doc Watson
13. Somebody Touched Me - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton/Almeda Riddle
14. Grandfather's Clock - Doc Watson
15. Lonely Tombs - Doc Watson/Arnold Watson/Gaither Carlton
16. Just A Friend - Rosa Lee Watson/Doc Watson

Customer Reviews:

The one and only.......2005-09-22

I've been a big fan of Doc and his music for more than 20 years and I just love him. He's not only an amazing picker and singer but also a wonderful and kindhearted human being. I can hardly put into words how much joy he have brought into my life with his music. He really is the true voice of America, and this album is just great and wonderful!

"This guy...".......2003-07-19

This "guy" is Doc Watson, the one and only. Never was there a more genuine North Carolina mountain picker and singer! These songs are wonderful!

Finally, Old Southern Mountain Music As I Remember!.......2002-07-17

This is the music I remember from my youth. Sounds authentic, rough, guitar playing is excellent, some of the vocals are truly "country". If you want a real sample of real music, this is it. I checked online about this guy ... he really is from the southern mountains (western North Carolina) and nearly 80 years old now, though apparently these recordings are 35 years old or so.

The music.......2000-03-18

The music is okay, but the guy who sings does not sound Southern. This CD is not for those looking for songs from the former Southern Confederacy.

Average customer rating:

Tradition The Watson Family Manufacturer: Rounder Select ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Old-Time Country | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music ASIN: B000A5E6NW Release Date: 2005-10-25

Tracks:

1. Georgie
2. Fish in the Mill Pond
3. Julie Jenkins
4. Hushabye
5. Baa Nanny Black Sheep
6. Sheepy and the Goat
7. I Heard My Mother Weeping
8. Reuben's Train
9. Biscuits
10. Tucker's Barn
11. Give the Fiddler a Dram
12. And Am I Born to Die?
13. Marthy, Won't You Have Some Good Old Cider?
14. A-Roving on a Winter's Night
15. Arnold's Tune
16. Pretty Saro
17. Early, Early in the Spring
18. Little Maggie
19. Bill Banks
20. Rambling Hobo
21. One Morning in May
22. Faithful Soldier
23. Omie Wise
24. Jimmy Sutton

Album Description

This delightful recording explores the roots of the legendary guitarist Doc Watson, made just as he was on the verge of national acclaim for his virtuosity in old-time music and traditional song. In these informal sessions, Doc and his extended family perform songs that constitute the bedrock of American old-time music, remembered both from ballads of British origin and uniquely-evolved songs in American tradition, embracing both Anglo-Appalachian and African-American repertoire, as well as early commercial country recordings. In particular, Doc's father-in-law Gaither Carlton emerges as a repository of otherwise-forgotten fiddle and banjo tunes. As Doc himself has commented, "the old-time fiddle tunes and the old-time ballads, there's never been anything prettier nor ever will be." Originally released in 1977. Digitally remastered from the original tapes.

Average customer rating:

Johnny "Guitar" Watson And The Family Clone Johnny Guitar Watson , and Johnny "Guitar" Watson Manufacturer: Shout Factory ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music Texas Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Modern Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music Similar Items: What The Hell Is This? Love Jones Giant Ain't That a Bitch A Real Mother for Ya ASIN: B000BTFZLE Release Date: 2006-01-17

Tracks:

1. CLONE INFORMATION
2. FAMILY CLONE
3. FORGET THE JONESES
4. AINT MOVIN
5. COME AND DANCE WITH ME
6. RIO DREAMIN
7. WHAT IS LOVE?
8. VOODOO WHAT YOU DO
9. PLEASE SEND ME SOMEONE TO LOVE
10. CHILL ME OUT

Album Description

THE GANGSTER OF LOVE IS BACK! NEWLY REMASTERED

With a career spanning over 40 years, Johnny "Guitar" Watson was a key figure in blues, R&B, soul and funk. From his first records in 1952 to his last in 1994, Watson won the admiration of everyone from Lightnin' Hopkins to Jimi Hendrix to Prince, his influence pervading five decades of American music. At a time when giants roamed the earth, Johnny stood as tall as any of them.

Shout! Factory is proud to present this deluxe new edition of his 1981 release, Johnny "Guitar" Watson And The Family Clone. The album features 2 never-before-released songs including Watson's take on Percy Mayfield's classic "Please Send Me Someone To Love."

Average customer rating: New Moms and Dads

Our Family Patti , Winans , Flack , Morgan , Hill , Watson , Heaggy , Ashton , and Carroll Manufacturer: Word -- Word -- ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music Contemporary Christian | Compilations | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music General | Christian & Gospel | Indie Music | Stores | Music Christian Contemporary Music | Christian & Gospel | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00000313K Release Date: 1994-01-21

Tracks:

1. In A Father's Heart - Kathy Troccoli/Robbie Buchanan
2. He Watches Over You - Sandi Patti/BeBe Winans
3. The Greatest Discovery - Phil Keaggy
4. Say A Prayer Tonight - Roberta Flack
5. Innocent Eyes - Susan Ashton
6. A Mother And A Child - Tommy Sims
7. Promise You Anything - Bruce Carroll
8. You Can Close Your Eyes - Kim Hill/Brown Bannister
9. Be In Her Eyes - Wayne Watson
10. In The Arms Of God - Cindy Morgan

Customer Reviews:

New Moms and Dads.......2006-02-20

I had this CD years ago when our children were little, now they're having children of their own. This is a great album and its music will capture your heart while raising your little ones.

Average customer rating: And The Family Clone! Very Essential

Johnny "Guitar" Watson and the Family Clone Johnny "Guitar" Watson Manufacturer: Collectables ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music Texas Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Modern Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B000000931 Release Date: 1996-09-24

Tracks:

1. Clone Information
2. Family Clone
3. Forget The Joneses
4. Ain't Movin
5. Come And Dance With Me
6. Rio Dreamin'
7. What Is Love?
8. Voodoo What You Do

Customer Reviews:

And The Family Clone!.......2004-09-21

What IS the Family Clone?It's Johnny Guitar Watson playing
every instrument on this 1981 recording.And when the vocorder comes in on "Come Dance With Me" it's the capper on a truely
bizzare production from an artist noted for them.Watson's
scewed understanding of bluesy funk is on full throttle and even
at it's most bizzare moments,'Presents The Family Clone' has a
very home spun quality for it's time and is one of the many
excellent offerings cooked up by Watson over the years!

Very Essential.......2000-04-29

Johnny Guitar Watson Was No Joke.He Could Do So Many Styles.His Guitar Playing was His Trademark.this DIsc Showcases His Greatness.He Grooves on Ain't Movin.One Of The Baddest Instrumentalists Ever.The Man Was Amazing On Different Instruments&Styles.this is a Must.

Average customer rating: Just Like the Old Front Porch Songs with a lasting and immortal kind of effervescent quality uncluttered country music Old Time Mountain Music at Its Purest

Watson Family Tradition Doc Watson & Family Manufacturer: Rounder Select ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Old-Time Country | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Bluegrass | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Country | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Songs From the Southern Mountains Clarence Ashley And Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 [2-CD Set] Old-Timey Concert On Praying Ground Down South ASIN: B0000002EG Release Date: 1995-08-15

Tracks:

1. Georgie
2. Fish In The Mill Pond
3. Children's Songs
4. I Heard My Mother Weeping
5. Reubin's Train
6. Biscuits
7. Tucker's Barn
8. Give The Fiddler A Dream
9. And Am I Born To Die?
10. Marthy, Won't You Have Some Good Old Cider
11. A-Roving On A Winter's Night
12. Arnold's Tune
13. Pretty Saro
14. Early, Early In The Spring
15. Little Maggie
16. Bill Banks
17. Rambling Hobo
18. One Morning In May
19. The Faithful Soldier
20. Omie Wise
21. Jimmy Sutton

Amazon.com

The importance of kinship to Doc Watson's music cannot be overestimated. He learned everything about the guitar from the records his parents owned and the playing of his nearby relatives, one of whom, Gaither Carlton, is featured on this collection, a superb companion piece to the early Folkways album The Watson Family. These are songs Watson played and sang his whole life, and it's a joy to hear him with his wife and sons. Stand outs include the mysterious "Am I Born to Die?", "Omie Wise," "Little Maggie," and "Faithful Soldier." --Roy Francis Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Just Like the Old Front Porch.......2006-01-23

Music is all around us. Pouring out from the radio and the concert halls. Dripping from the internet stream and the pod cast. Booming from the crowded discothèque and blues bars. Music is everywhere.

Some of the best music comes from places few have ever seen. In the empty pool halls, the back yards, the living rooms and thousands of garages there is beautiful, passionate, amazing music being played. Right now, from every corner of the globe, someone is playing a tune, singing a song.

Before there was DVD audio, CDs, 8 tracks and even vinyl records, there was a caveman sitting around a fire howling out a song about his battles to his cavewoman. Through time we moved out of the cave into cozier dwellings, but we're still sitting around a fire, singing about our lives, loves, and losses.


Years ago I had the experience of sitting around in a living room with a bunch of people and singing and playing. And it was like a spiritual experience. It was wonderful. I decided then that was what I wanted to do with my life was to play music, do music. In the making of records I think over the years we've all gotten a little too technical, a little too hung up on getting things perfect. And we've lost the living room. The living room has gone out of the music. -Emmylou Harris

In 1977 Doc Watson released Tradition, a record designed to put the living room back into the studio. It is not so much of a studio record, as a family sing a-long - quite literally since Watson uses his real family as a band. Doc is playing grandpa here, picking the guitar and singing songs older than the entire family put together. Dolly Greer is the grandmother singing silly children's songs on the porch and lonesome fiddle tunes in the kitchen. The rest of the family pitches in on guitar and banjo singing old timey tunes while we gather round to listen.

The record is like an old photograph found buried in the back of the closet in your great grandmother's closet. It's not the prettiest picture ever taken, nor something to take out and hang on your living room wall. It's a little tattered and worn, faded by the sun. Yet there is something familiar, comforting and beautiful about it.

Simple tunes like "Reuben's Train", and "Biscuits" will surely put a smile on your face, and if they don't make you get up and dance, you'll at least be tapping your foot along to the tune.

There are lots of little half-songs and snippets of tunes. Dolly Greer sings a medley of four children's songs that lasts less than three minutes in total. Her country accent is so heavy that you can hardly understand what it is exactly, that she's singing, but she does it with such a happy zeal you can hardly fault her for any of it. There are other half-played fiddle tunes and songs that seem so spur of the moment and forgotten halfway through that the album really does feel like a family sitting on the back porch watching a lazy summer day float away.

It is definitely not an album for everyone. Fans of tightly wound, well crafted pop songs will surely find disappointment in the casual feel of the songs. I suspect even bluegrass and country music fans may find themselves looking back at the record bin through part of the 45 minutes of music here. But for anyone interested in traditional music, for a patient listener willing to wait for something special, there is a wealth of beautiful music in this disk.

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Songs with a lasting and immortal kind of effervescent quality.......2005-12-16

With very unpretentious authenticity, "Tradition" was recorded by Ralph Rinzler and Daniel Seeger in 1964 and 1965. Besides featuring Doc himself, this album has an interesting mix of solo, duo and trio offerings with Doc's wife Rosa Lee Watson, father-in-law Gaither Carlton, cousin Dolly Greer, cousin Tina Greer, brother Arnold Watson, son Merle Watson, and others. As song carriers, the extended family kept their mountain music vibrant. In finest folkloric tradition, songs commonly shared among family and friends would be passed down through many generations.

I listened to a remastered edition of this album (wtih 24 tracks) that was released by Rounder on 10/25/05. Nine of the offerings on "Tradition" are simply presented as unaccompanied vocals. Many of the other songs are only accompanied by guitar, banjo or fiddle. With the exception of "The Faithful Soldier," don't expect any vocal harmony. And don't expect all the fiddling or singing to be perfectly in tune either. That's how they keep it gleefully rustic and down-home mountainous. However, there are plenty of joyful surprises to cherish. "Reuben's Train," for example, has the twin banjos of Arnold and Doc frailing along to Gaither's sawing on the fiddle. Gaither doesn't sing much, but when he does on Pretty Saro, Little Maggie, and Jimmy Sutton, he demonstrates the heartfelt charm of a true hillbilly musician.

The Rounder label is to be commended for the reissuance of this significant and important traditional mountain music. The songs represent a special chapter in this family's musical heritage. View the album as a timeless gift of songs, ballads, and instrumentals. Copious liner notes from A.L. Lloyd and Ralph Rinzler speak to the objectives of the record as a sampling of local tradition and as an illustration of a family's music. Doc's repertoire represents the three strands of traditional folk, rural professional, and even a commercial sense that grew from the former and other genres. Thus, we are given a sense of lineage and able to explore the roots of Doc Watson's legendary music. Sung and re-sung again, the songs have a lasting and immortal kind of effervescent quality.

Rinzler's notes say that some of the tunes at these mid-60s sessions had rarely been heard outside of the extended family circle. Youngsters and old timers alike came to listen and show appreciation during the recording in the sitting room at Doc's house. Now, with this album, folks of all ages can again relax and delight in the Watson Family's traditional music treasure chest. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

uncluttered country music.......2003-06-05

it's a relief to hear the voices and instruments of the country musicians without the clutter of modern techno stuff that only masks the talent of these peoples artistry! thank you!

Old Time Mountain Music at Its Purest.......2002-05-29

This stuff is raw, real raw. This album doesn't pretend to show off in any way, the sound quality is a bit muffled, the picking a bit choppy and at one point, Doc's wife starts giggling, "Thats all I know" right in the middle of a song. But its all real beautiful stuff. The whole album is a hodgepodge of various acapella ballads, banjo tunes, fiddle tunes, etc., all passed down orally, by generations within the Watson family. Doc's wife highlights the album with some great old English-Appalachian ballads ("One Morning in May", "Early, Early in the Spring", "Children's Songs") sung with a alot of heart, soul and twang. Gaither's fiddle is haunting and Doc's more refined sound holds it all together. If you looking for some purely authentic mountain music with traditional tunes sung and played by real people who learned them in the traditional way, then definitely check this out.

Average customer rating: Timeless performances of timeless music

Meeting In The Air - Songs Of The Carter Family Jim Watson Manufacturer: Barker/Sapsucker ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Country Folk | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Twisted Laurel/Merchants Lunch Lone Star Love (2004 Original Off-Broadway Cast) ASIN: B0002U55L2 Release Date: 2004-08-01

Tracks:

1. Anchored In Love
2. While The Band Is Playing Dixie
3. A Stern Ole Bachelor
4. The Winding Stream
5. The Schoolhouse On The Hill
6. The Wayworn Traveler
7. Meeting In The Air
8. I Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow
9. One Little Word
10. My Dixie Darling
11. Lula Wall
12. Are You Tired Of Me My Darling
13. Give Me The Roses While I Live
14. When The Roses Bloom In Dixieland

Album Description

"How wonderful that this 1980 recording of Carter Family music by three of the original members of the Red Clay Ramblers - Jim Watson, Mike Craver and Tommy Thompson, is now out on CD. They brought a freshness to these songs back then with their unique blend of voices - combinations of sweet and hard, intensely focused and full - and their instrumental abilities, that remains as fresh as it was 25 years ago. Tommy, of course, has gone on to his Meeting in the Air, as has Bruce Kaplan , founder of Flying Fish records, who was a loyal supporter of the Red Clay Ramblers and whose idea the album was. They would both be proud and happy that this fine recording will be out and about again. And the many fans who loved to hear Mike and Jim and Tommy sing together,and who love the Carter Family songs, will be too." ---- Alice Gerrard

Customer Reviews:

Timeless performances of timeless music.......2005-12-07

Three of the original Red Clay Ramblers made this album for Flying Fish in 1980. Craver, Watson, and Thompson interpret these beautiful songs faithfully without embalming them. The recording shows the timelessness of the music, and of their performances.

The only way this album could be better would be if it were longer

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