Audio CD review:
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken - The Trilogy

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken - The Trilogy

Band: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Title: Will The Circle Be Unbroken - The Trilogy Rating: Release Date: 30 September, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Good Ole Opry Song 2: Keep On the Sunnyside 3: Nashville Blues 4: You Are My Flower 5: The Precious Jewel 6: Dark As A Dungeon 7: Tennessee Stud 8: Black Mountain Rag 9: Wreck On The Highway 10: The End Of The World 11: I Saw The Light 12: Sunny Side Of The Mountain 13: Nine Pound Hammer 14: Losin' You (Might Be The Best Thing Yet) 15: Honky Tonkin' 16: You Don't Know My Mind 17: My Walkin' Shoes 18: Lonesome Fiddle Blues 19: Cannonball Rag 20: Avalanche 21: Flint Hill Special 22: Togary Mountain 23: Earl's Breakdown 24: Orange Blossom Special 25: Wabash Cannonball 26: Lost Highway 27: Doc Watson & Merle Travis (dialogue) 28: Way Downtown 29: Down Yonder 30: Pins and Needles (In My Heart) 31: Honky Tonk Blues 32: Sailin' On to Hawaii 33: I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes 34: I Am a Pilgrim 35: Wildwood Flower 36: Soldier's Joy 37: Will the Circle Be Unbroken 38: Both Sides Now 39: Foggy Mountain Breakdown 40: Warming Up For "The Opry" (talk) 41: Sunny Side (talk) 42: Remember Me 43: Life's Railway To Heaven 44: Grandpa Was A Carpenter 45: When I Get My Rewards 46: Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan 47: Little Mountain Church House 48: And So It Goes 49: When It's Gone 50: Mary Danced With Soldiers 51: Riding Alone 52: I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World 53: Lovin' On The Side 54: Lost River 55: Bayou Jubilee 56: Blues Berry Hill 57: Turn Of The Century 58: One Step Over The Line 59: You Ain't Going Nowhere 60: The Valley Road 61: Will The Circle Be Unbroken 62: Amazing Grace 63: Take Me In Your Lifeboat 64: Milk Cow Blues 65: I Find Jesus 66: Hold Whatcha Got 67: Mama's Opry 68: Diamond In The Rough 69: Lonesome River 70: Some Dark Holler 71: The Lowlands 72: Love, Please Come Home 73: Goodnight Irene 74: I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome 75: I'll Be Faithful To You 76: Tears In The Holston River 77: Fishin' Blues 78: Save It, Save It 79: Wheels 80: Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms 81: Oh Cumberland 82: I Am A Pilgrim 83: Sallie Ann 84: Catfish John 85: Roll The Stone Away 86: All Prayed Up 87: Return To Dismal Swamp II 88: There Is A Time 89: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Glory, Glory) 90: Farther Along 91: My Walkin' Shoes (DVD) 92: Catfish John (DVD) 93: One Step Over The Line (DVD) 94: Roll The Stone Away (DVD) 95: Love, Please Come Home (DVD) 96: All Prayed Up (DVD) 97: Oh Cumberland (DVD) 98: Fishin' Blues (DVD) 99: The Lowlands (DVD) 100: Return To Dismal Swamp II (DVD) 101: Earl's Breakdown (DVD) 102: I Find Jesus (DVD) 103: Mama's Opry (DVD) 104: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (DVD)

Editoral Review A peace offering between rock-reared longhairs and rock-ribbed Nashville patriarchs (and one matriarch, Mother Maybelle Carter), it exposed generations of upstart pickers and singers to old-time country music and its impact is felt to this day. The original Will the Circle Be Unbroken is undoubtedly a landmark country-music recording. The organizers of the 1971 sessions that led to the initial three-LP set, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, have produced two sequels, the first in 1989 and the most recent in 2002. This six-disc collection (including an all-star concert DVD) pulls together all three Circle sessions and, naturally, captures dozens of essential performances, plus a fair number of inessentials. Anyone with an interest in country music will want the original. Its mission is clear, the performances are inspired, and its significance is undeniable. The second Circle strays far afield from the original concept, bringing in the rather lightweight likes of John Denver and Michael Martin Murphy to mix with volume one holdovers Jimmy Martin and Earl Scruggs. The final volume is also more diffuse than one would like, though eminent guest stars such as Del McCoury, June Carter Cash, and Johnny Cash help it capture the spirit of the original more frequently than does its immediate predecessor. Completists will relish having all three collections in one box, while those who think three times around the circle is two too many are advised to stick with the 30th anniversary reissue of the initial album. --Steven Stolder .. You can see a complete list of all The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band discography, or go back to the The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band tabs