Various Artists - Harlan County USA: Songs Of The Coal Miner's Struggle (2006)

21 Jan, 19:21
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Artist: Various Artists
Title: Harlan County USA: Songs Of The Coal Miner's Struggle
Year Of Release: 2006
Label: Rounder
Genre: Country, Folk, Americana, Bluegrass
Quality: Mp3 320 / Flac (tracks)
Total Time: 01:10:56
Total Size: 175/403 Mb
WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist:

01. Hazel Dickens - Coal Tattoo 2:59
02. Old Home String Band, Tracy Schwarz - Shut Up In The Mines Of Coal Creek 3:41
03. Sarah Gunning - Come All You Coal Miners 1:57
04. The Johnson Mountain Boys - Blue Diamond Mines 5:12
05. Hazel Dickens - The Yablonski Murder 2:58
06. Norman Blake - Last Train From Poor Valley 3:42
07. Hazel Dickens - Black Lung 3:21
08. Merle Travis - Dark As A Dungeon (Live At Jordan Hall, Boston, MA / November 23, 1959) 3:01
09. Country Cooking - Trouble Among The Yearlings 2:05
10. Phyllis Boyens - Lawrence Jones 2:56
11. Nimrod Workman - Coal Black Mining Blues 2:19
12. Hazel Dickens - Coal Miner's Grave 5:29
13. Jim Garland - The Death Of Harry Simms 3:53
14. Hazel Dickens - Mannington Mine Disaster 4:34
15. Connie & Babe And The Backwoods Boys, Don "Red" Roberts - Cruel Willie 3:16
16. Sarah Gunning - Hard Working Miner 3:13
17. Phyllis Boyens - Dream Of A Miner's Child 2:25
18. The Doc Watson Family - And Am I Born To Die? 3:33
19. Hazel Dickens - Clay County Miner 4:35
20. J.P. Fraley - One Morning In May 1:23
21. Florence Reece - Which Side Are You On? 1:42
22. Hazel Dickens - They'll Never Keep Us Down 2:42

The release of this compilation suggests that the coal miner's plight hasn't improved appreciably since the 1976 release of Barbara Kopple's 1976 documentary, Harlan County, USA. Few industries have inspired such impassioned folk music, as most of these 22 cuts depend more on the power and conviction of the musical testament than any polish in the performance. Almost a third of the selections feature activist Hazel Dickens, whose contributions to the soundtrack established her as the musical conscience of Kopple's film. Among the other highlights, the pinched harmonies of the Old Time String Band featuring Tracy Schwarz convey the faith of trapped miners in the heaven that awaits, while "Dark as a Dungeon" by Merle Travis remains one of the classics of the coal-mining songbook. A number of unvarnished, a cappella performances capture the essence of work that breaks your back, blackens your lungs, and ultimately takes your life. Many of the others are story songs of union heroes, management villains, mines closed, and lives lost. None of it is easy listening, for this is not an easy way to make a living. --Don McLeese

Various Artists - Harlan County USA: Songs Of The Coal Miner's Struggle (2006) 320

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