on the road a tribute to john hartford

​Various Artists (from the album On the Road: A Tribute to John Hartford available on LoHi Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
John Hartford was to Bluegrass what Ween is to Rock radio; a respectable presence with stellar chops, existing outside the norm, music NPR-quirky enough to raise a questionable eyebrow while also nodding approvingly to a respected presence playing spectacularly throughout a vast musical legacy. One of the world’s great songwriters, many of the fifteen acts heard in On the Road: A Tribute to John Hartford have touted Hartford’s name for years, making this tribute is a gem. Sam Bush’s album opening title track for On the Road is textbook Nu-Grass. Fruitions take on “Back in the Goodle Days” is a delight and Travis Books vocals are stellar with The Infamous Stringdusters nailing Hartford’s famed “Gentle On My Mind.” 
Keller Williams begins “Granny Woncha Smoke Some Marijuana” as a lazy and drunken back-porch singalong before turning it into a Bluegrass ripper and “Holding” a choice cannabis-friendly song without mentioning the word “marijuana” gets proper studio treatment after being in The Yonder Mountain String Bands repertoire for years.  Leftover Salmon’s “The Category Stomp” is a funky pounder, Todd Snider’s “I Wish We Had Our Time Again” gets the sentimental Folk treatment and Leftover Salmon bass player Greg Garrison’s “Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry”, featuring Denver’s Sydney Clapp on vocals, is a dreamy ballad.  Other contributors include The Travelin’ McCoury’s, Railroad Earth, Band of Heathens, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, John Carter Cash and Jamie Hartford with Norman and Jerry Douglas. Danny Barnes closes On the Road: A Tribute to John Hartford as it began, with a banjo-only take on the title track, revealing Barnes’ similarity to Hartford, with his unique ability to add a delicious dose of quirkiness to the Folk and Bluegrass world. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Listen and buy the music of On the Road: A Tribute to John Hartford from LoHi Records
 
For more information, please visit the On the Road: A Tribute to John Hartford website
 
 

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