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Topic: PBS Country Music Special |
Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 24 Aug 2019 3:13 am |
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I look forward to any commercial-free music programming, regardless of the network. PBS seems to be the only place where I can find that.
Ken Burns specials are always special. Everything about them encourages me to see his next production. I find them sufficiently apolitical.
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Those that say don't know; those that know don't say.--Buddy Emmons |
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Brett Lanier
From:
Madison, TN
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Posted 27 Aug 2019 5:29 pm
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| Bob Hoffnar wrote: |
| I’ll check it out but it will probably piss me off like his other pompous and bland works. Like that dreadful jazz documentary made for people that don’t listen too or like jazz. Or his revisionist and oddly romantic “Viet Namâ€. |
At least he can't use this one to keep plugging Wynton Marsalis. I wonder who his favorite country musician will be. |
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Dennis Brion
From:
Atwater, Ohio USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2019 6:27 pm
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I watched the preview the other night, gonna be a great show. Lots of earlier stars interviewed, rare pictures and home movies (Johnny Cash) one of Merle Haggard last interviews! Even the co producer became a country music can after making this show...should be good!
_________________
1969 Custom built d10, Fender 25R practice amp,Dunlop pedal, Peavy Special 130 w/15" Blackwidow, Gretsch resonator, 41 Gibson 7 string lap steel, Epiphone flat top, 67 Epiphone Olympic |
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Bill Moore
From:
Manchester, Michigan
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Posted 30 Aug 2019 5:25 am
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I finally watched the preview that I had recorded. I will watch the entire series. For me, the highlight of the preview show was about 15 minutes before the end; they showed a color photo of what seemed to be the entire Grand Ole Opry cast from the 1950's, on stage. The cast members were mostly not paying attention to the camera, some talking with each other, some laughing others looking off to the side, etc.
The camera panned from right to left and stopped at the center of the stage. There was a Fender 400, or maybe it was a D-8 sitting there, standing behind it was a young Buddy Emmons! He stood straight and proud and stared directly at the camera! You could tell that he was most serious person on that stage, just by his facial expression. I paused the show and stared at it for a while. It would be great to know what he was thinking just then. I'd like to find a copy of that photo. |
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Clyde Mattocks
From:
Kinston, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2019 4:11 pm
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Brett, wrong, Wynton is in this one, too.
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LeGrande II, Nash. 112, Harlow Dobro |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 3 Sep 2019 12:11 pm
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Here is a healthy dollop of pure BS straight from the horses ass:
https://www.pbs.org/video/wynton-marsalis-discusses-black-country-musicians-og7oxh/
I hope Burns doesn't get into that whole thing where they express amazement and surprise that country music is sometimes well crafted and that the musicians are actually talented.
I'm sorry about my attitude about Marsalis. I've never gotten over that jazz dog and pony series he curated at Lincoln Center.
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Bob |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 3 Sep 2019 1:07 pm
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| Bob Hoffnar wrote: |
I hope Burns doesn't get into that whole thing where they express amazement and surprise that country music is sometimes well crafted and that the musicians are actually talented. |
10 to 1 he will get into exactly that.
David Ball accurately portrayed Burns earlier in this thread:
"Ken Burns produces entertaining series, but I think he goes in with a pre conceived notion of what he wants to find, and presents that view regardless of what else might come up along his research..........but I’ve still enjoyed several of his shows while taking them for what they are—entertainment more so than academic documentaries. And they are entertaining and have great soundtracks."
Burns isn't targeting blue-collar rubes like me. He has to at least pretend to explain "country music" to the average PBS viewer......and we all know who "those people" are and what they have for preconceived notions. Sniff-sniff.
So, I'd expect to see the standard caricatures..... blacked out teeth, corn cob pipes, and feigned astonishment that any of "those people" could actually play.
It's just too irresistible and too low-hanging not to take advantage of it. And it allows the viewer to say, "ah, now I understand. Thanks, Ken."
And the accolades roll in from the media for how, once again, Burns has explained (to the average PBS viewer) the otherwise inexplicable (blue-collar rube "musicians", pardon the expression).
Isn't enlightenment wonderful?
Can you say "formulaic"?
Last edited by Mitch Drumm on 3 Sep 2019 1:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Dennis Brion
From:
Atwater, Ohio USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2019 1:33 pm
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I learned a long time ago with TV and radio you take what you want from it and let the dribble go! This series is going to cover, i think, lots of material that I will find very interesting, and I can filter through the crap! Like Dwight Yokam said in his interview i am a hillbilly and he is proud to be!
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1969 Custom built d10, Fender 25R practice amp,Dunlop pedal, Peavy Special 130 w/15" Blackwidow, Gretsch resonator, 41 Gibson 7 string lap steel, Epiphone flat top, 67 Epiphone Olympic |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 4 Sep 2019 8:15 am
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| Dennis Brion wrote: |
| Like Dwight Yokam said in his interview i am a hillbilly and he is proud to be! |
I think that's where people's understanding of country music can go one way or another. You can think of it as hillbilly music, or you can think of it the way Dolly Parton does: "It's just ordinary stories told by ordinary people in an extraordinary way.â€
To me, that's also what makes it a categorically different from other art forms and forms of entertainment. It seems like everything else gravitates towards the extraordinary, the glamorous, the melodramatic, the exciting, the prideful, the peculiar, etc.. You'd have to think this is also the default approach for a documentary.
The fact of the matter is that good country music can speak to everyone who can accept the ordinary and finding meaning in it whether or not we're hillbillies. God knows that the range of people's emotionality has no distinction on whether or not they're hillbillies. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 7 Sep 2019 8:39 am
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The 5-CD soundtrack is impressive.
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Disc: 1
1. Can the Circle Be Unbroken - The Carter Family
2. Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues) - Jimmie Rodgers
3. Barbara Allen - Bradley Kincaid
4. I'll Fly Away - James and Martha Carson
5. If the River Was Whiskey - Charlie Poole with The North Carolina Ramblers
6. Fox Chase - DeFord Bailey
7. Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin' on the Corner) - Jimmie Rodgers
8. Wildwood Flower - The Carter Family
9. In the Jailhouse Now - Jimmie Rodgers
10. Comin' Round the Mountain - Uncle Dave Macon and Sam McGee
11. Pretty Polly - Coon Creek Girls
12. T.B. Blues - Jimmie Rodgers
13. Mountain Dew - Grandpa Jones and his Granchildren
14. Home On the Range - Gene Autry
15. I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart - Patsy Montana & The Prairie Ramblers
16. Tumbling Tumbleweeds - The Sons Of The Pioneers
17. Medley: Keep on the Sunny Side / I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes - The Carter Family
18. The Great Speckled Bird - Roy Acuff
19. Whoa Babe - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
20. New San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
21. Wabash Cannonball - Roy Acuff
22. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8) - Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys
Disc: 2
1. Honky Tonkin' - Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
2. It's Mighty Dark to Travel - Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys
3. New Mule Skinner Blues - Maddox Brothers and Rose
4. I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
5. Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs with The Foggy Mountain Boys
6. Molly and Tenbrook - The Stanley Brothers
7. Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams
8. I Saw the Light - Hank Williams
9. Hey, Good Lookin' - Hank Williams
10. It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Kitty Wells
11. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
12. Jambalaya - Little Brenda Lee
13. New Step It Up and Go - Maddox Brothers and Rose
14. I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two
15. Crazy Arms - Ray Price
16. Bye, Bye Love - The Everly Brothers
17. The Long Black Veil - Lefty Frizzell
18. El Paso - Marty Robbins
19. Night Life - Ray Price
20. Hello Walls - Faron Young
21. I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
22. Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
23. Crazy - Patsy Cline
24. I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
Disc: 3
1. Dang Me - Roger Miller
2. I've Got a Tiger by the Tail - Buck Owens
3. Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) - Loretta Lynn
4. Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn
5. Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' - Charley Pride
6. Hungry Eyes - Merle Haggard & The Strangers
7. Mama Tried - Merle Haggard & The Strangers
8. Harper Valley P.T.A. - Jeannie C. Riley
9. Don't Touch Me - Jeannie Seely
10. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
11. Stand by Your Man - Tammy Wynette
12. She Thinks I Still Care - George Jones
13. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - The Byrds
14. Me and Bobby McGee - Kris Kristofferson
15. Help Me Make It Through the Night - Sammi Smith
16. Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down - Kris Kristofferson
17. Okie from Muskogee - Merle Haggard
18. Man in Black - Johnny Cash
19. Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash
20. Grand Ole Opry Song - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
21. Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Disc: 4
1. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way - Waylon Jennings
2. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8) - Dolly Parton
3. Jolene - Dolly Parton
4. I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton
5. We're Gonna Hold On - George Jones & Tammy Wynette
6. Texas Cookin' - Guy Clark
7. If I Needed You - Townes Van Zandt
8. I Can't Stop Loving You - Johnny RodrÃguez
9. I've Been a Long Time Leaving (But I'll Be a Long Time Gone) - Waylon Jennings
10. Love Hurts - Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels
11. Boulder to Birmingham - Emmylou Harris
12. Bluebird Wine - Emmylou Harris
13. Whiskey River - Willie Nelson
14. Miles and Miles of Texas - Asleep At The Wheel
15. Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain - Willie Nelson
16. A Good Hearted Woman - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
17. Family Tradition - Hank Williams Jr.
18. Seven Year Ache - Rosanne Cash
19. Pancho and Lefty - Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson
20. He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
Disc: 5
1. Don't Get Above Your Raisin' - Ricky Skaggs
2. On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
3. Amarillo by Morning - George Strait
4. Somebody Should Leave - Reba McEntire
5. Diggin' Up Bones - Randy Travis
6. Why Not Me - The Judds
7. Honky Tonk Man - Dwight Yoakam
8. Streets of Bakersfield - Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens
9. Where've You Been - Kathy Mattea
10. I'm No Stranger to the Rain - Keith Whitley
11. Go Rest High on That Mountain - Vince Gill
12. Guitar Town - Steve Earle
13. She's In Love with the Boy - Trisha Yearwood
14. Tennessee Flat Top Box - Rosanne Cash
15. Get Up John - Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers
16. Uncle Pen - Ricky Skaggs
17. I Still Miss Someone - Rosanne Cash
18. Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 7 Sep 2019 9:17 am
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That's a pretty comprehensive selection of material. Sure, we can all say that this-or-that should have been included (I'm sorry that Glen Campbell and Ronnie Milsap are absent) but, by and large, it tells the story.
As for the programme itself, I'm going to take from it what interests me. There'll doubtless be lots of fascinating photos and video clips that, despite the unavoidably general nature on the commentary (it's aimed at a wide audience), will be worth the 'price of admission'.
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Dennis Brion
From:
Atwater, Ohio USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2019 9:25 am
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I agree Roger should be some good stuff in this series, I am watching for sure.
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1969 Custom built d10, Fender 25R practice amp,Dunlop pedal, Peavy Special 130 w/15" Blackwidow, Gretsch resonator, 41 Gibson 7 string lap steel, Epiphone flat top, 67 Epiphone Olympic |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Craig Stock
From:
Westfield, NJ USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2019 6:12 pm
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Good show tonight, opening celebration with star studded performances, nice to see Paul in the band. I thought Larry Gatlin was fantastic doing 'Sunday Morning Coming Down'
Looking forward to the next episodes.
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Regards, Craig
I cried because I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet.
Today is tomorrow's Good ol' days |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 9 Sep 2019 9:57 am
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Saw the show.. It was ok,.. A little too much Dierks for my taste.. The musicianship was spot on perfect of course, but I dunno, seemed too produced or too rehearsed.. or too something.. I just like my country a bit less refined I suppose.. Paul played and sounded really great with everyone. it annoyed me that there were guitar/mandolin/fiddle solos aplenty, but didn't hear one pedal steel solo... Unless I missed it when I stepped out of the room a few times. ..
To my ears Riders in the Sky were magnificent and Marty Stuart stole the show with his solo mandolin OBS...
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 10 Sep 2019 5:33 am
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| I'm a pick and choose consumer of media, I vote with the off button. On for Ken Burns, off for anything political which by definition can never be "unbiased". Enjoyed the live music and looking forward to the documentary. |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 10 Sep 2019 8:23 am
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| Bob Carlucci wrote: |
| Marty Stuart stole the show with his solo mandolin OBS... |
I’ll second that. |
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Kenny Davis
From:
Great State of Oklahoma
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Posted 10 Sep 2019 8:58 am
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Beginning in early 2017, I began working with one of the producers at Florentine Films providing images and historical info regarding Vince Gill's time with our band Mountain Smoke. I have over 2,500 negatives, slides, and digital images that represent 46 years of the band, and submitted a few dozen for their use in the film. They eventually used three images and are using several seconds of a song that high school aged Vince sang on an album in 1975. I've been told more images appear in the companion book.
I met the writer Dayton Duncan and producer Julie Dunfey last week at a special preview held in in the Oklahoma City area. This is going to be a very accurate series, as they spent about 8 years researching and talking to a lot of the "right" people. They used 1996 as a stopping point, stating the time from that point will be written by someone else in the future. I think that was an appropriate time as far as my musical tastes are.
The Burns people are extremely professional and do everything top notch. I doubt if anyone else could come close in capturing the subject. |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 11 Sep 2019 8:48 am
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| Only my opinion, but this 'preview' doesn't bode well. Too scripted with everyone reading pat remarks from the teleprompters, and the musical program (with some notable exceptions,) much too spoon-fed to the tourists in attendance. Possibly, I'm being premature in my judgement, but we'll see how it goes... |
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Kenny Davis
From:
Great State of Oklahoma
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Posted 11 Sep 2019 12:51 pm
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| The Ryman show was not a preview of the documentary. It was a show put together to generate buzz and celebrate the music. It did a better job than the last several years of CMA or ACM shows. |
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Dennis Brion
From:
Atwater, Ohio USA
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Posted 11 Sep 2019 1:01 pm
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Liked the concert some better than others, all in all like I said before take what you want leave the rest.
_________________
1969 Custom built d10, Fender 25R practice amp,Dunlop pedal, Peavy Special 130 w/15" Blackwidow, Gretsch resonator, 41 Gibson 7 string lap steel, Epiphone flat top, 67 Epiphone Olympic |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 11 Sep 2019 4:42 pm
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| I'm watching the Ryman show airing right now on PBS. |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 11 Sep 2019 5:54 pm
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| Barry Blackwood wrote: |
| Only my opinion, but this 'preview' doesn't bode well. Too scripted with everyone reading pat remarks from the teleprompters, and the musical program (with some notable exceptions,) much too spoon-fed to the tourists in attendance. Possibly, I'm being premature in my judgement, but we'll see how it goes... |
That's Nashville for you. I saw in the preview that the writer was saying the conclusion be came to about the history of country music is that it's actually several different styles and roots. Yet, Nashville is great at making sure it's the face and heir of it all.
As an aside, this is one the great and amusing ironies of the genre. It finds success by appealing to our love of sincerity, but the mainstream stuff is very contrived and show business-y. And the most widely popular country artists have always rode the razor thin line between the two.
George Jones had his songs written for him, was dressed by professionals, and never had a hair out of place, but when you listen to him and watch him perform you felt like he's giving you part of himself and letting you get to know him. Same way with Conway Twitty. As cheesy as people think his work is, he's irreplaceable and you don't feel like he's shielding the 'real' him from you. Taylor Swift is doing the same for her target audience. |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 13 Sep 2019 10:05 am
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| Bob Carlucci wrote: |
Saw the show.. It was ok,.. A little too much Dierks for my taste.. The musicianship was spot on perfect of course, but I dunno, seemed too produced or too rehearsed.. or too something.. I just like my country a bit less refined I suppose.. Paul played and sounded really great with everyone. it annoyed me that there were guitar/mandolin/fiddle solos aplenty, but didn't hear one pedal steel solo... Unless I missed it when I stepped out of the room a few times. ..
To my ears Riders in the Sky were magnificent and Marty Stuart stole the show with his solo mandolin OBS... |
I watched the whole thing again last night, and you are right. The camera panned over to Paul several times, and it appeared he was taking a solo or doing fills, but it was either completely buried in the mix or at much lower volume than the other instruments. Even the dobro was mixed better.
Dierks had a tough job, trying to fill Waylon’s shoes on his signature song...Was it me or did he seem a little unsure of how to deliver it?
Yeah it was scripted and rehearsed. Shocking, that they would dare to put on a professional production. All in all, I thought it was very well done and I enjoyed it. |
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