Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Buy for Me the Rain
2. Melissa
3. Collegiana
4. Mournin' Blues
5. Willie the Weeper
6. Uncle Charlie Interview
7. Mr. Bojangles
8. Some of Shelly's Blues
9. Cure
10. House at Pooh Corner
11. Randy Lynn Rag
12. Clemente Opus 36 (John)
13. Livin' Without You
14. Sixteen Tracks
15. Fish Song
16. Creepin' 'Round Your Back Door
17. Honky Tonkin'
18. Togary Mountain
19. Soldier's Joy

Disc 2:

1. Ripplin' Waters
2. You Are My Flower
3. Battle of New Orleans
4. All I Have to Do Is Dream
5. Rocky Top
6. Gavotte No. 2
7. Jamaica Lady
8. Mother Earth (Provides for Me)
9. Falling Down Slow
10. Bowleg's
11. Doc's Guitar
12. Bayou Jubilee/Sally Was a Goodun
13. Cosmic Cowboy, Pt. 1
14. Win or Lose
15. Woody Woodpecker
16. Visiting an Old Friend
17. Will the Circle Be Unbroken
18. Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36447 in Music
• Released on: 2003-09-08
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Import, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .28 pounds

Album Description
2003 reissue of 1976 compilation that features some of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's greatest moments up to this point in their career. 37 tracks representing the largest anthology ever done on NGDB, originally released on 3 LPs. Slipcase. BGO.

Customer Reviews

BUY THIS CD!
After years of being unavailable in any form, England's BGO Records has just re-issued this outstanding compilation album from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Originally released in 1976 as a 3-LP set, it contains a wide selection of some of the band's very best work from their "golden era"-- roughly their first ten years. All of the better known material is here, including eight cuts from the classic "Uncle Charlie" album. Also included are many great songs from other equally fine but lesser known albums. Several of the cuts appear to have been recorded specifically for this collection and are not available anywhere else. All are excellent. As is typical of releases on BGO, the entire album has been remastered and the sound is great. The packaging and liner notes are superb, as well, preserving as much as possible of the elaborate sleeve design of the original vinyl LP. Then the entire package is wrapped in a protective cardboard outer sleeve. Great job, all the way around. If you are a Dirt Band fan, this CD is absolutely essential. If you are just getting interested in the band, this is quite possibly the finest introduction that I can imagine. Very highly recommended!

Celebrating the Dirt Band's First Golden Decade
This compilation is a must-have purchase for neophyte and die-hard NGDB fans alike. For the casual fan, this covers most of the highlights from their first decade. While their pre-UNCLE CHARLIE releases had them often performing jug band, sometimes goofy material (like Cab Colloway's "Willie the Weeper"); they had a minor hit with "Buy for Me the Rain," which is a minor classic. Starting with 1970's UNCLE CHARLIE & HIS DOG TEDDY through 1975's SYMPHONIUM DREAM, every song is top notch. They even throw in a few tracks from their landmark WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN album.

What makes this essential for the serious fan is that several of the tracks on disc two did not appear on previous studio albums and were released for the first time on this compilation back in 1976. Among the then new songs are "Mother Earth (Provides for Me)" and the Jeff Hanna original "Bowlegs."

While they didn't write all their own material, they utilized some of best songwriters avalable like Michale Nesmith ("Some of Shelly's Blues", Jackson Browne ("Melissa"), Michael Murphy ("Cosmic Cowboy, Part I"), Kenny Loggins ("House at Pooh Corner), and of course Jerry Jeff Walker, who penned their signature song "Mr. Bojangles."

This collection shows how important NGDB were along with the Byrds, Poco and the Flying Burrito Brothers in developing the country/rock genre. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Mortgage your house to buy this cd
Some day this band will be honored in the Smithsonian for their vast body of work, which includes preserved traditional bluegrass music, and new material in the bluegrass genre. This set contains almost 40 tracks, some from each of the above categories. I still don't know how they manage to play in a very authentic Appalachian style and yet sound completely updated. It certainly has something to do with the fact that the band is loaded with virtuoso talent on banjo, mandolin, guitar, etc. The presentation of the songs is very well done, with exquisitely beautiful tunes interleaved with songs that are good old, toe-tapping fun. The Dirt Band style makes classics like "Rocky Top" and "The Battle of New Orleans" sound better than old versions that you thought could not be improved upon. I believe there is a lot of pent up demand for this CD, which has been out of production for many years. Strongly recommended while it's available.