Search - Tim O'Brien, John Herrmann, Dirk Powell :: Songs From the Mountain

Songs from the Mountain is an album of passionate restraint, befitting the Appalachian heritage it celebrates and the novel that inspired the collection. The story--which may itself pass into folk legend--is that fiddler Dirk Powell and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist extraordinaire Tim O'Brien were so taken with Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain that they decided to do a companion CD with banjoist John Herrmann. The result is a superior collection of traditional tunes that echo the book's imagery and action--from songs of rebellion and revelry such as "The Drunkard's Hiccups" to the keen longing embodied in "Wayfarin' Stranger" and "The Blackest Crow." The liner notes capitalize on the music's links to the novel and vice versa. But this CD's intimacy and immediacy will transport even those unfamiliar with Frazier's debut. --Kerry Fried