Quantcast

Call for Papers: PopMatters Celebrates The Jam in Massive Special Section

Music
cover art

Various Artists

Rounder Records' 40th Anniversary Concert

(Rounder; US: 1 Mar 2010; UK: Available on import)

Venerated roots label Rounder has been in business for forty years. Rounder Records’ 40th Anniversary Concert presents highlights of said concert, which was held last year at the Grand Old Opry House to celebrate that anniversary, as well as several performances culled from other shows at other venues. While listeners will have their own complaints about who has or hasn’t been featured, it’s an enjoyable collection showcasing a range of artists from across the label’s roster. Minnie Driver croons warm country-jazz, while Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas offers a lively, crowd-pleasing set. Allison Krauss and Robert Plant seduce on “Rich Woman” from the massive Raising Sand, and Krauss also teams up with Union Station to unleash a disarming brand of elegance and twang on two tracks from the album Lonely Runs Both Ways. Irma Thomas contributes a heartfelt “River is Waiting” and a strident “Don’t Mess With My Man”, while Madeleine Peyroux delivers a spare, jazzy take on Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love”. There’s fine picking from Steve Martin and Bela Fleck, the inspirational piety of “Why Shouldn’t We?” and a sturdy “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” from Mary Chapin Carpenter, and the whole company assembles for an exuberant closing melody of “Angels Watching Over Me”, “I’ll Fly Away” and “Down By The Riverside”. It’s pleasant, tasteful, accomplished—like a Prairie Home Companion special, minus the more surreal interludes. Here’s to another forty years, guys.

Rating:

Alex Ramon lives in London, UK, and teaches English literature and film at Kingston University and the University of Reading. He holds a PhD in English and is the author of the book Liminal Spaces: The Double Art of Carol Shields (2008). In addition to writing for PopMatters, Wears The Trousers and The Public Reviews, he's been known to blog here: http://boycottingtrends.blogspot.com/. And to tweet @BoycottTrends.


Comments
Now on PopMatters
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  6. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  7. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  8. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  9. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  10. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  11. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  12. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  13. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  14. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  15. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  16. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  17. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  18. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  19. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  20. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  21. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  22. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  23. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  24. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  25. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  26. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  27. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  28. Feeling '80s Spirit: Post-Hardcore Punk for the Plastic Generation (Columns)
  29. Like a Jack London Story on Steroids: 'The Grey' (Reviews)
  30. Saint Etienne: Words and Music (Reviews)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.