Comments on: First person to suggest Nickelcreek gets smacked with a Fiddle

Question: First person to suggest Nickelcreek gets smacked with a Fiddle

empyrean — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:25:39 -0800

I'm looking for examples of stripped-down bluegrass songs with the kind of eerie/sad sound that gives you goosebumps and makes your heart ache.

There's a particular kind of plaintive Appalachian style that really exudes what those people endured. Almost like a bluegrass dirge. I'm thinking along the lines of something that sounds like it could've been recorded a hundred years ago... raw, simple and authentic. Suggestions welcome.

By: essexjan

essexjan — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:57:29 -0800

The one that springs to mind instantly is "Oh Death" by Ralph Stanley.

By: enrevanche

enrevanche — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 03:56:53 -0800

Roscoe Holcomb.

By: saladin

saladin — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 05:09:45 -0800

"Talk About Sufferin'", from Ricky Skaggs's fantastic Family and Friends. A-capella, close harmony, minor key, talking about death as a release from the hardships of life. And a liberal dose of Jesus. It's fucking stellar, and just what you're looking for.

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 05:14:40 -0800

Instrumental, but exactly what you're looking for:

Mary Z. Cox: A Secret Life of Banjo

Butch Baldassari & David Schnaufer: Appalachian Mandolin and Dulcimer

Both of these feature haunting versions of "Wayfaring Stranger", the most haunting traditional song I know. Johnny Cash's version is not quite bluegrass but as stripped down as you get.

By: milarepa

milarepa — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 06:00:37 -0800

If you want the eerie stripped down sound, maybe you should look into delta blues as well as bluegrass.

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 06:26:25 -0800

Anything by Gillian Welch. Try Time (The Revelator) for a start.

By: I_Love_Bananas

I_Love_Bananas — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:02:47 -0800

Why it's been piegeonholed as a Christmas song always puzzled me, but I Wonder as I Wander is one I thought of.

Also- There is a lot more similarity between that raw Appalachian sound and the Celtic tradtion than a lot of people know. there are some direct historical ties there.

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:41:46 -0800

The Cold Mountain soundtrack is good for this. The whole album is shot through with that spare spooky 19th century appalachian vibe.

In particular, "Lady Margret" is a ghost story ("three time he kissed her cold corpsey lips...") sung a capella by Cassie Franklin, and Jack White's version of Wayfaring Stranger is also very good here.

By: likeSoy

likeSoy — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:51:51 -0800

Sackcloth n' Ashes by 16 Horsepower is so spooky that I've put it on as halloween music more than once. Very authentic appalachian sound.

I also second the Delta Blues suggestion ... perticularly anything by Charlie Patton.

By: Nathanial Hörnblowér

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:57:45 -0800

The Legend of the Rebel Soldier always brings tears to my eyes. Lyrics here .

By: cortex

cortex — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 08:15:31 -0800

I've never consistently liked the dark and lonesome of any bluegrass greats more than Ralph Stanley.

By: dgeiser13

dgeiser13 — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 08:29:10 -0800

empyrean, do you have the name of a song and/or artist that I could hunt up online and listen to get an idea of what exactly you are looking for?

By: naomi

naomi — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:02:05 -0800

Bill Monroe. And you need to check out the Southern Journey recordings; this site sells a box set and offers audio clips. Check out "Tribulations" by Estil C. Ball.

By: chococat

chococat — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:03:12 -0800

I really like Jim and Jenny and the Pinetops and the Be Good Tanyas.
The Tanyas aren't quite as "authentic," (they're from British Columbia,) but they are definitely sad 'n' spooky.

By: metasav

metasav — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:07:46 -0800

i have to second gillian welch. she is EXACTLY what you are looking for. " hell among the yearlings" and "revival" are absolutely haunting, and tender.

By: kookoobirdz

kookoobirdz — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:21:06 -0800

Well jeez, I was going to suggest "No One Knows My Name" by Gillian Welch, which has always sounded haunting to me. But now that I listen to some of these other samples, it sounds almost warming by comparison. It's certainly got grit, and a woeful story behind it. Might as well check it out - it's nice. You can hear two different samples of it, one at Amazon and another at allofmp3.com

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:53:49 -0800

Here's a live recording of "Time (The Revelator)." Performed on A Prairie Home Companion 9/25/2004.

If you can dig up the entire show, it's well worth a listen. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings performed with Old Crow Medicine Show. It's really lovely...especially the finale, an ensemble performance of "We're All in This Together". I think I got it off of Sharing the Groove a few years back. I don't know what StG got resurrected as, unfortunately, so I can't tell you where to find it now.

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:55:39 -0800

Also, Tim O'Brien's album Songs from the Mountain has a lot of that haunting, spare Appalachian sound.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 10:17:11 -0800

Not exactly bluegrass, but this stripped down version of I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, sung by Pappy and backed up Victoria Williams, Howe Gelb, and the rest of Giant Sand, has been known to bring water to my eyes, especially listened to in the dark with headphones on. Unfortunately, the terrific album it's from, Glum, was put out of print by Warner Bros. two years after release. I think it's GS's best recording. The final words, spoken by a female voice, make this a terrific closing track for a sad mixed cd.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 10:32:17 -0800

Try "Credo" by Hayseed (on the "Melic" album ... features guest vocal by Lucinda Williams ... utterly haunting).

By: extrabox

extrabox — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 10:59:32 -0800

The Obray Ramsey song "Rain and Snow" on the album called "The Music Never Stopped" has that sound.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 11:04:44 -0800

The relatively recent Ralph Stanley album Short Life of Trouble: The Songs of Grayson & Whitter is excellent in this vein. It's not exactly bluegrass, but it's very good.

By: dbiedny

dbiedny — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 12:33:37 -0800

Here's something for you: Chris Whitley, Dirt Floor. Achingly gorgeous music, even if it doesn't fall squarely into the bluegrass bucket. Chris was extremely gifted, with the voice of an angry angel and furious fretboard fingers. He was one of a kind, I miss him so very much.

By: weston

weston — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 12:46:12 -0800

Try James McMurtry's Angeline.

By: PercussivePaul

PercussivePaul — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:01:15 -0800

Oooh, second Gillian Welch. Her music changed my life. She has four albums and they're all fantastic. From 'Time (The Revelator), try the title track, April the 14th Part 1, Everything is Free Now, and I Dreamed a Highway. Or from 'Soul Journey', I Made a Lover's Prayer. Or from 'Revival', Barroom Girls, Only One and Only. Or finally from 'Hell Among the Yearlings', Whiskey Girl.

Also, 'On a Lonesome Night' by Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder from Live at the Charleston Music Hall gives me shivers.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:03:28 -0800

Bil Monroe pioneered the "high lonesome" sound so you can't go wrong with him. My particular favorites are his cover of Lefty Frizell's "Long Black Veil" and his version of "Pilgrim/Wayfaring Stranger". Also n'thing the Stanley Brothers/Ralph Stanley.

Also check out the Pixies' "Silver". They do an excellent job of emulating that mournful bluegrass sound.

Trivia: Monroe sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" at Carter Stanley's funeral. Ralph Stanley did the same for Monroe when he passed away.

By: TG_Plackenfatz

TG_Plackenfatz — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:17:25 -0800

I find "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" by Chris Thomas King (which can be found on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack) heartbreaking. The Skip James version isn't bad either.

By: yeti

yeti — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:38:54 -0800

This is easy:
William Elliott Whitmore. [myspace]
Appalachian, lamenting, soulful. His new album is excellent.

Podcast from his label [mp3].

By: dseaton

dseaton — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:42:55 -0800

The Wailin Jennys might be a bit more modern than you had in mind, but they sing a couple of truly beautiful songs. Try "Long Time Traveler," which you can listen to on their website.

By: bilabial

bilabial — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 14:23:44 -0800

I can't believe nobody has said Lefty Frizzell, "Long Black Veil" (Though not every woman in that region cheats on their husband and then weeps at the grave of her lover after he's hung for a murder he didn't commit.)

Also, Gillian Welch's version of "The Miner's Refrain" makes me come pretty close to choking just about every time.

By: paulsc

paulsc — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 15:04:07 -0800

And I can't believe there's no love yet in this thread for Dolly Parton. While it's true she's been over produced to death, on her own, with her own songs, her vocal range and her natural approach to melody and harmony is pure Appalachia. Get back to her 1971 release "Coat of Many Colors" for some simple musicality.

By: bda1972

bda1972 — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:18:37 -0800

I know exactly the sound you're talking about and it's very tough to find. Not even many classic bluegrass bands consistently had that sound other than the Stanley Brothers. None of the new hippy bluegrass jam bands even sound like bluegrass let alone have the sound you're looking for. You're probably better off sticking to more unknown artists like Roscoe Holcomb and maybe Doc Watson. Ralph Stanley's newer solo material is about close as you might get.

You could also try:
Stanley Brothers - An Evening Long Ago (Live on the Radio 1956) This whole album might have the sound you're looking for. It's just Ralph and Carter with no band.
There might be some examples of this sound on The Anthology Of American Folk Music. I own it but I'm not intimately familiar with it.

I get the impression you're looking for older artists, but here are a couple of newer songs that might also fit (but I doubt it):
Johnny Staats Project "Coal Tattoo"
Patty Loveless "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"

Oh, and everything by Nickel Creek :)

By: Haruspex

Haruspex — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:38:44 -0800

I can heartily endorse the Louvin Brothers: shattering fraternal harmonies and a repertoire populated with weeping drunkards, dying soldiers, jail-bound n'er-do-wells, loquacious doubting Thomases and a general roundup of redemption-haunted Southern sinners. And every love song's a ménage with death.

More modern? Iron & Wine.

By: whatzit

whatzit — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:39:59 -0800

Amen on the Stanley Brothers, bda1972!

For other specitic tracks, I recommend you check out Who will sing for me and When I wake up (to sleep no more). These both have band with them, but the vocals overpower the instrumental parts.

By: Emperor SnooKloze

Emperor SnooKloze — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:42:55 -0800

An act that I've totally fallen in love with over the last year or so is Old Crow Medicine Show. Their latest album is produced at least in part by Gillian Welch, and has some good stuff, both rollicking and of the "high lonesome" variety. See their older stuff too, especially, "We're all in this Together", "Big Time in the Jungle", and "Gospel Plow".</plug>

By: empyrean

empyrean — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 17:17:58 -0800

Wow! I love you all. I just got back and expected to see "what're you talking about?" Thanks so much to everyone. Consider yourselves all marked as best answer, because there's no way I could value any one over another. This has turned into a fantastic repository and it looks like I have a ton of material to wade through.

THANKS!

If you want the eerie stripped down sound, maybe you should look into delta blues as well as bluegrass.

Yes, I do have a background in blues from back when I was learning guitar as a kid. I suppose that's how my interest has branched out into bluegrass and this question came about.

There is a lot more similarity between that raw Appalachian sound and the Celtic tradtion than a lot of people know. there are some direct historical ties there.

My wife and I were discussing this last night. Earlier this week we saw a special on PBS featuring Irish/Scottish/Canadian Celtic music and we wondered out loud about the links to American bluegrass and folk, since there were obvious (to us) similarities.

empyrean, do you have the name of a song and/or artist that I could hunt up online and listen to get an idea of what exactly you are looking for?

Some of the ones that have been named fit perfectly, but I didn't want to throw any out there in case it discouraged anyone from responding with what gave them the same feeling as I was looking for.

Oh, and everything by Nickel Creek :)
SMACK! Kidding... I'll let you off, because of your other great recommendations.

By: al_fresco

al_fresco — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 17:34:46 -0800

Nobody's mentioned Dock Boggs.

By: lhauser

lhauser — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 21:10:17 -0800

Okay, I'm not an Appalachia fan, but when it comes to someone at least dabbling in such stuff, I really enjoy Natalie Merchant's "House Carpenter's Daughter."

By: sarahsynonymous

sarahsynonymous — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:51:27 -0800

I second Iron & Wine - "Faded From the Winter" particularly stands out as one that makes my soul ache.

By: weston

weston — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:05:02 -0800

I totally forgot about this, but the song Northern Cross fits the general criteria, and as performed by Cry Cry Cry is almost certainly going to be what you want. It's available on Rhapsody and the iTunes store for preview. Leslie Smith's recording is pretty good too.