I read in the newspaper the other day that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had recently released its third Will the Circle Be Unbroken
album. The article caught my eye because it isn’t often you see these
guys mentioned in the media. Aside from a performance on Letterman
earlier this year, I can’t recall the last time I saw something about
the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Nonetheless, with their unique blend of
folk, bluegrass, western, country and gospel sounds, the band carved a
niche for itself and earned a loyal following. Count me in that crowd.
Their Greatest Hits album features some of their most popular
tunes and shows their versatility. A great album to pull out on a rainy
day and sing along to.
Mr. Bojangles: A big hit for
them. When I was little, my family used to go through a lot of Kool-Aid,
and we always collected the points in a little container, then once in a
while we would take them out and count them and measure them up against
the latest Kool Points catalog. One time, one of the prizes was a
Kool-Aid tape player which came with a tape featuring a mix of 5 songs,
selected from a choice of a hundred or so. I got the tape player and the
tape, and the first song on the cassette was Mr. Bojangles. I
still have it floating around somewhere. At any rate, this is a great
song about a lonely old man who spent his life traveling and dancing and
still brings joy to those around him with his talents, though his own
life is rather depressing. Sort of a Piano Man, but in this case
the performer is as old and ragged and full of as many stories as the
young piano player’s regular listeners are. Great guitar and banjo work,
and an interesting mix of joy and melancholy. “I knew a man, Bojangles,
and he’d dance for you in worn out shoes… I heard someone ask him
please, please, Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.”
An American Dream:
This one has a very tropical feel to it and is probably my favorite
song on the album, along with track 4. Very laid back, with an
introduction featuring tinkly chimes setting the dreamy quality of the
song. The harmonica is also used to nice effect here. The speaker is
daydreaming of a nice sunny vacation spot, and he encourages his wife to
daydream along with him. The result is a stellar duet with Linda
Ronstadt. Reminds me of the Beach Boys’ Kokomo. This is a great
take-a-long-nap-in-the-sun song. Pass the lemonade! (Wait a minute, I
don’t like lemonade… oh, well, it’s the thought that counts!) “I think
Jamaicain in the moonlight, sandy beaches drinking rum every night. We
got no money, mama, but we can go. We’ll split the difference, go to
Coconut Grove.”
Will the Circle Be Unbroken: This is
the band’s signature song. Awesome banjo on this track, and really nice
harmony on the choruses. I prefer the vocals on the version in the
second Will the Circle Be Unbroken album, which we also own, but
this version is nice as well. Whenever I hear this song I am reminded of
a time many years ago when the family was watching Quantum Leap,
a favorite show at the time. In this particular episode, Sam had leaped
into the body of Elvis Presley, and he was up next to go onstage.
First, though, a nervous young woman was giving her rendition of Will the Circle Be Unbroken,
but the song was too emotionally affecting for her to get through it.
In a scene similar to Captain Von Trapp’s concert performance of Eidelweiss in The Sound of Music,
Sam/Elvis came out and sang with her, giving her time to recover her
composure and saving her much embarrassment. “Well,” my dad remarked,
“that was magnanimous of him.” That was the first time I had ever heard
that word, and I soon incorporated it into my lexicon. To this day, I
enjoy using it. My, that was quite a deviation. Ah, well. This is a
mournful but ultimately optimistic song in which the speaker laments the
loss of his or her mother (depending on the singer) but expresses the
hope and expectation that they will be reunited one day. A great gospel
song. “Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by. There’s a
better home awaitin’ in the sky, Lord, in the sky.”
House at Pooh Corner:
If I recall correctly, this is actually the reason my dad got this
album. We’d already had the other for quite some time, and Dad picked
this one up just because he thought I’d get a kick out of this tune
about my favorite bear. And the other tracks didn’t hurt, either. This
is a great song, and its electric guitars make for a dramatic change
from the original lullabye-like Kenny Loggins version, which I first
heard many years later. They lend some urgency to the song’s lyrics:
“Help me if you can, I’ve got to get back to the House at Pooh Corner by
one. You’d be surprised, there’s so much to be done.” The lyrics are
extremely true to the Hundred Acre Wood and its inhabitants, and I can
definitely relate to Loggins’ mindset while writing this: standing on
the brink of adulthood, wanting to lose himself again in the forests of
childhood. The same mindset that birthed the Peter Paul and Mary classic
Puff the Magic Dragon. One of these days I’ll pen the next song
in this tradition! This is a rollicking version that doesn’t leave too
much time for wistfulness. It seems that getting back to the Wood is
entirely within the realm of possibility, if we only try hard enough. As
one of Winnie-the-Pooh’s most dedicated fans, I can’t get enough of
this track!
Make a Little Magic: This is kind of a
pretty track, very heavy on the harmonica. It’s a duet featuring a
couple trying to put some spark back into an icy relationship. Not a
song I listen to a whole lot, but still very nice. “A little sleep is
all we’re losing. It’s up to us to do the choosing. Let’s make a little
magic before the night is through.”
All I Have to Do is Dream:
This is a very countrified version of the exquisitely mellow Everly
Brothers oldies standard. An extremely different take on the song. I
think I prefer the Everlys, but this one is nice too. It’s yet another
variation on the old
I-love-you-but-I-can’t-have-you-so-I’ll-spend-my-life-daydreaming-about-you
theme, and one I’ve always liked. “I can make you mine, taste your lips
of wine, any time, night or day. Only trouble is, gee whiz, I’m
dreaming my life away.”
Grand Ole Opry Song: A nice
fiddle and banjo-filled tribute to some of the biggest names of the
Grand Ole Opry. Another song I don’t listen to much, but it’s still good
and provides a nice bit of history along with it. “There’ll be guitars
and fiddles, Earl Scruggs and his banjo too, Bill Monroe singin’ ’em the
‘Honky Tonky Blues,’
Ernest Tubb’s number, ‘Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right,’ at the Grand Ole Opry ev’ry Saturday night.”
Jambalaya:
A Cajun tune sung in a definite dialect. It’s a fun song, sounds like
the boys are cooking up quite a party. I heard a Christmas-themed parody
of this song once that was pretty funny. This one just sounds like
they’re having a good time, and like they want as many people to join in
the fun as possible. “Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-oh. Son of
a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.”
Battle of New Orleans:
This war song gets kinda rowdy. The guys sound rather overzealous, and
there’s an awful lot of whooping and hollering going on. I’m with my
dad; I prefer the parody featured on my recently reviewed Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection.
But it’s nice to hear the original song every once in a while, and it
sounds like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had an awful lot of fun recording
their version. “We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin’. There
wasn’t ‘bout as many as there was a while ago. We fired once more and
they began to runnin’ on down the Mississippi to the Lake of Mexico.”
I Saw the Light:
An inspirational tune with some great banjo licks. This song attests to
the power of Jesus to change people’s lives as several folks step
forward to say how they came to “see the light.” “I saw the light, no
more darkness, no more night. Now I’m so happy, no sorrow in sight.
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.”
Buy for the Rain: An
interesting song, with lyrics following a simple pattern and a neat
backing of guitars, violins, and deep-voiced harmonies. Basically a song
in which a husband urges his wife to help him make the most of his life
and he’ll return the favor as long as he can. Concludes on a rather
morbid note, but a nice track. “Buy for me the rain, my darling, buy for
me the rain. Buy for me the crystal pools that fall upon the plain. And
I’ll buy for you a rainbow and a million pots of gold. Buy it for me
now, babe, before I am too old.”
Some of Shelley’s Blues:
An upbeat tune in which a young man tries to convince his ladylove to
stick with him in spite of her proclaimed misery with him. I presume
that Shelley is the girl to whom he is singing; I wonder if there is any
significance to the name. Pretty fast-paced and with a definite country
feel. “All this talk about leaving is strictly bad news so you settle
down and stay with the boy that loves you.”
Fire in the Sky:
This one opens with a nice sax solo (which reappears later) before
switching over to electric guitars and harmonica. The song has a very
pop feel to it with a woebegone fella wishing that his girl would return
to him and forgive him for his mistake in dumping her. It’s okay, but
it seems a little out of place on the album and doesn’t do a whole lot
for me. “Turn back the clock awhile. Things will all work out. That’s
what the dream is all about.”
All in all, a great album. The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has a great sound that’s carried them through
more than 30 years in the music industry, and they’re still going
strong.
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