Sing Me Back Home: The Dc Tapes, 1965-1969

Dickens, Hazel And Alice Gerrard
Trade Root Music, Llc
Country | Dec 2018

Reviews

Kim Walter
Reviewed 2018-12-18
Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969
Label: Free Dirt Records
Reviewed by: kim Walter, Dec 2018


In the unforgettable words of my mother, “Boy, this is really terrible.” However, I heartily disagree, because this sounds exactly like it should: a delightful array of songs from Alice’s private archive of songs recorded between 1965 - 1969, back when men were not only the main purveyors of bluegrass, they were the mainstay of the music business. These are songs created at home, with only two voices and a handful of instruments, and cover a vast amount of both popular music like The Carter Family, The Louvin Brothers, Jimmie Rodgers, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, as well as other classics that blur the line between old-timey music and bluegrass. My favorite thing about it is exactly what my mother hates: the lo fi / unprofessional quality. But, I like hearing them talking and coughing! It really just adds to the whole vintage appeal, ie music by and for REAL PEOPLE. Honestly, they are all great. Since most of the songs are very similar, I’m not reviewing it track by track, but here are some highlights:
: 1 is a fun version of a familiar tune,
3 is very nasal, 6 and 14 are slower bluesy numbers
, **5 is like dueling voices,
10 is very BLUEGRASS, but play ANYTHING!!

Recent airplay

Sing Me Back Home
TraditionsFeb 22, 2019
Sing Me Back Home, No One To Welcome Me Home, Are Yyou All Alone, Little Darling Pal Of Mine
Emergency Crew for PACCFeb 18, 2019
Tell Me That You Love Me, Bye Bye Love
TraditionsFeb 15, 2019
James Alley Blues, This Little Light Of Mine
TraditionsFeb 08, 2019
Will You Miss Me
That's Not BluegrassJan 29, 2019
This Little Light Of Mine
TraditionsJan 18, 2019

Charting

2018-12-23 — 2019-02-24 Country/Bluegrass
Week EndingAirplays
Feb 24 2
Feb 17 1
Feb 10 1
Feb 3 1
Jan 20 1
Jan 13 1
Jan 6 2
Dec 30 1

Track listing

1. Bye Bye Love
2. Tell Me That You Love Me
3. Seven Year Blues
4. Cannonball Blues
5. This Little Light Of Mine
6. James Alley Blues
7. Little Darling Pal Of Mine
8. Are Yyou All Alone
9. No One To Welcome Me Home
10. Let Me Fall
11. Will You Miss Me
12. No Telephone In Heaven
13. I'll Wash Our Love From My Heart
14. No Hard Times
15. Why Not Confess
16. Bound To Ride
17. Sing Me Back Home
18. First Whippoorwill
19. In The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)