Will The Circle Be Unbroken - THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND***

Grand Ole Opry Song/Keep On The Sunny Side/Nashville Blues/You Are My Flower/The Precious Jewel/Dark As A Dungeon/Tennessee Stud/Black Mountain Rag/The Wreck On The Highway/The End Of The World/I Saw The Light/Sunny Side Of The Mountain/Nine Pound Hammer/Losin' You (Might Be The Best Thing Yet)/Honky Tonkin'/You Don't Know My Mind/My Walkin' Shoes/Lonesome Fiddle Blues/Cannonball Rag/Avalanche/ Flint Hill Special/Togary Mountain/Earl's Breakdown/Orange Blossom Special/Wabash Cannonball/Lost Highway/Way Downtown/Down Yonder/Pins & Needles (In My Heart)Honky Tonk Blues/Sailin' On To Hawaii/I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes/I Am A Pilgrim/Wildwood Flower/Soldier's Joy/Will The Circle Be Unbroken/Both Sides Now

Will The Circle Be Unbroken was a triple album from the country-rock Nitty Gritty Band. It features a collaboration between the band and some veteran country musicians of the past, and includes interludes of dialogue. (US:68)

“This genre was often dismissed as hillbilly music but the musicianship and the skill of these folks proves it is to be deserving of respect. The choice of material is most enjoyable and I am sure this record is responsible for converting a lot of young people to folk and country.”

“There are way too many instrumentals and dialogue interludes of the various old buzzards that comprise the musicians for these sessions, shooting the breeze about their farms or whatever. You’d get a fantastic album if it was whittled down to the songs that mix whimsy and sorrow to make traditional music so special.”

“An important document in interpreting early bluegrass and country music, and far beyond anything else the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has ever been involved in. The scope of this recording is staggering and the dialogue by great country musicians of the past is both hilarious and insightful. The musicianship alone is worth a listen. This is not merely a great album, it is essential from a musicology point of view.”

“When the Dirt Band were brought into the studio to record Circle, they were five long-haired guys playing progressive country-rock. A lot of the veteran country artists they were recording with were conservative classic-country performers, so there was an obvious musical and cultural gap. However, the Dirt Band eventually won their veteran artist counterparts over by showing that they could play classic country and bluegrass with anybody. The result is a timeless album that's full of tradition.”

“A beast of a record, playing at two hours. I came looking for bluegrass and it's here, but so too is country and there is too much singing. But it is raucous in places.”