Music From The Lost Provinces: Old-Time Stringbands From Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity 1927-1931

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Editorial reviews

Album Description
Reissues 22 songs and tunes recorded between 1927-1931 by stringbands from Ashe County, North Carolina, a mountainous area in the northwest corner of the state once known as "The Lost Provinces" because of its extreme isolation. The music includes traditional fiddle tunes, folk songs, Anglo-Irish ballads, comic songs, topical numbers, and original compositions, all from a time period often called the "golden era" of old-time string music. The anthology brings together for the first time the complete recordings of Frank Blevins & His Tar Heel Rattlers, the Carolina Night Hawks, the North Carolina Ridge Runners, and many more. All tracks on the CD have been carefully remastered from original 78rpm records. A 28-page booklet presents a detailed history of the music based on interviews with original band members. Also included is a complete discography and numerous vintage photographs, many never before published. Music From The Lost Provinces is the premier release! from Old Hat Records, a label devoted to quality reissues coupled with thorough historical research.

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Amazon.com
For whatever reason, the so-called "Lost Provinces" of North Carolina--Ashe, Watauga, and Alleghany Counties--were a breeding ground for fantastic string bands in the late '20s. Maybe it was the isolated and tough nature of the region that inspired folks to turn to music. Or perhaps all those enterprising record companies were eager to sign old-time musicians. Whatever the case, the talent on this anthology of vintage 78 records is astounding and, at times, surprising. Is it possible, for instance, to listen to the Woodie Brothers sing "Likes Likker Better Than Me"--a woman's lament for her alcoholic love interest--with a straight face? Probably not. And why the heck did Jack Reedy & His Walker Mountain String Band use a Hawaiian guitar for the intro to "Chinese Breakdown"? Don't worry, there's also plenty of straightforward and memorable string band music here from the likes of Grayson & Whitter, Frank Blevins, the Smyth County Ramblers, and more. Throughout, you'll hear incredible old-time guitar, fiddle, and (thanks to Jack Reedy) banjo playing on a thoroughly engaging collection of laments, traditional tunes, and at least one presidential campaign number ("Governor Al Smith For President"). As with Old Hat's Violin, Sing the Blues for Me compilation, you'll find copious liner notes and excellent remastering in this wonderful package. --Jason Verlinde

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Customer reviews

review by: howellhoekstras date: 2007-06-18 rating:
Music From The Lost Provinces
EXCELLENT. It is must have. It is a collection of the good ole country music. It features many different artists both who made it big in those days like Emphriam Woodie to the lesser names like Vance' Mountain Ramblers. It is an excellent find

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review by: date: 2007-04-04 rating:
another excellent release from old hat.
i like or love everything that i've heard from the folks at old hat. it is simply a marvelous label that specializes in old-time music releases. "music from the lost provinces" is another outstanding cd from them. twenty-two fine tracks from 1927-1931 presented with very good sound quality. a cornucopia of fiddlers and guitar-pickers and banjo players and hillbilly singers. this is a must for all fans of old-time rural music. magic from a bygone era.

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review by: date: 2006-11-19 rating:
Threw her Arms around me like Grape Vines 'round a Gum
This is the Holy Grail of Mountain Fiddle Music!

GB Grayson, the archetype of the Mountain Fiddler, lived near Mountain City and was one of the most influential fiddlers of the '20's, who, with his partner Henry Whitter, toured the coal fields of West Virginia, until Grayson was killed in a freak accident, falling from the running board of a car that he was hitching a ride on, on August 16, 1930.

But Frank Blevins is the real star on this recording. He is a fiddler more seminal than Uncle Pen, his fiddle wrapping you 'round in kudzu vines of primal melody...

Real "Tar Heel" rattlin'!

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review by: Dan Byrd'old-time fiddler date: 2005-09-18 rating:
great old-time music
Excellent collection of old-time stringband music. You may not like every song on the album but it is a great assortment of many different styles of playing and singing. A "must have"
album for collectors and people that play old-time music.


review by: date: 2002-07-26 rating:
Super-cool, super rare old-timey music
It's pretty amazing, this late in the folkloric/historic reissues game, to find a whole album's worth of "undiscovered" old-timey music that is of such a high caliber. Old Hat Records, a tiny North Carolina indie label, packs its discs with some of the best music in the style that you're ever likely to hear. (You might also want to check out the "Violin, Sing For Me" and "Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow" CDs...) This disc concentrates its attention geographically, collecting old 78s from artists out of Ashe County, NC, one of those backwoods areas unusually rich in hillbilly talent. The best known of these artists was the team of Grayson & Whitter (who were favorites of Ralph Stanley), but there are plenty of other great Ashe County artists on here, with fab names like The Woodies, The Carolina Night Hawks and (my favorite) Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands. In addition to great sound quality and great material, both discs are also quite handsomely packaged; the insert booklets include some really cool archival photos, as well as extensive liner notes of the sort that have been woefully absent on similar recent reissue efforts.

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