This DVD is exactly what it says, a documentation of the legacy of Roscoe Holcomb. Included on it are the documentaries Roscoe Holcomb from Daisy, Kentucky, as well as the classic The high lonesome sound and then a few extra tracks of music from Holcomb and his pals.
Roscoe died just about some thirty years ago and never got that big recognition he so fully deserved. Still, it feels like another time.
The times and music of mr Holcomb was made in a time when folk really meant something. People's music, that is. Compare Holcomb, who worked in heavy labour, as well as being unemployed from time to time, to the big stars of today with their bling and SUVs.
To me, as a practising Christian, one of the things I like the most is that the documentaries clearly show the joint roots of secular, as well as religious mountain music.
Anyway, Holcomb plays banjo, as well as guitar on this DVD. I like the banjo parts the best. You can be a pretentious s-o-b if you want and take a high brow approach to this kind of music and treat it like material for record collecting. I, on the other hand, treat this kind of music for what it is, dancing music. When you watch people dance to the music Holcomb and his pals play, only then do you get the full sense of what this music is about.
Also included are some good bluesy tunes. The only thing I really miss a little bit is a few fiddles more. True, the banjo stuff is some of the best I've heard and Holcomb had a good singing voice, which sometimes remind me of Dock Boggs. It's that high pitch, you know.
In case you haven't noticed, I really like this vid. It get 98,3% in rate of satisfaction.
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