Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken (40th Anniversary Edition) (2013) [Hi-Res]

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s seminal 1972 Americana album, Will the Circle be Unbroken, has been remastered from the original analog tapes for a deluxe 40th Anniversary edition.

The new release, remastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, marks the first-ever vinyl and high definition digital audio reissue of one of Americana’s most influential recordings.

Met by international critical acclaim as a modern classic upon its release, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle be Unbroken features a who’s-who of bluegrass, folk, and blues luminaries as primary and guest artists, including Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, Jimmy Martin, and others. Also featuring compositions by Acuff, Scruggs, Travis, Martin, Hank Williams, and Joni Mitchell, the album crossed genre lines, uniting fans of country and rock music in widespread appreciation. “We were all students of records coming from the bluegrass/folk/blues world, even prior to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s birth in 1966,” writes McEuen in his 40th Anniversary Edition essay. “This mysterious mix of music, culture and generations is what made ‘The Circle’ a possibility.”

Recorded live over six consecutive days at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, Will the Circle be Unbroken is a timeless feat of studio collaboration, bringing together accomplished country songwriters and musicians from two generations for a cohesive album that is both steeped in tradition and pioneering in its form, ushering in the new Americana style and remaining a font of musical influence to this day. In 2005, the album was selected for the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, joining an esteemed group of essential American recordings which “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." “We’re so grateful for the time we got to spend in the recording studio in Nashville making music with our heroes in 1971.

40 years later it stands among the proudest moments we’ve ever had as a band,” says the Dirt Band’s Jeff Hanna. “We recorded live to two-track,” explains McEuen, “There could be no mixing or overdubs. ‘Get it right the first time, an’ t’hell with the rest of them’ was Roy Acuff’s policy in the studio. With Will the Circle be Unbroken, we are told we all got it right.”

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Digitally remastered