Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Various Artists
• Album: American Roots Music
• Label: Palm Pictures
• Year of Release: 2001
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-03-29

If it is just an attempt to cash in on the sudden popularity of old time country music due to the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack then all the power to them. Palm Pictures has decided to endeavor on the American Roots Music project. This entails a four-part documentary, which explores the development of American music genres as well as a 4-disc box set, a 4-tape VHS box, and a 2-disc DVD set as well as this single-disc highlights. There really is a boatload of music that comes with this set. I can't comment on the documentary (Palm couldn't provide me with a copy to review) but the music on the sampler is as diverse as American music is. There is folk, country, blues, gospel, western swing, bluegrass, Cajun, Tejano, and Native American music from a wide variety of artists; some well known while others are fairly obscure. There are American icons like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, and Bob Dylan on here. Sometimes they are forgotten in the whole history of American music. Although not quite as eclectic as Smithsonian's Anthology of American Folk Music it provides the newcomer with a great history lesson.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums