Rating 4.5
Good StuffI've always enjoyed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. They play some great music with nice harmonies and mandolins...yes, mandolins. I'm a sucker for that instrument. This particular greatest hits offering includes some of their biggest hits from the 80's. Just about everybody knows "Fishin' In The Dark," which, in my opinion, is one of the best country songs every placed on vinyl, or a cassette, or a disc. "I've Been Lookin'" and "Baby's Got A Hold On Me" are also here. Those three songs alone are worth the price of this disc.
Other highlights include "Face On The Cutting Room Floor," "Oh What A Love," and "Down That Road Tonight."
In summary, if you're interested in groups like Shenandoah, Restless Heart, and the Eagles, you'll probably enjoy these guys. They are more country than Restless Heart and the Eagles, but they don't have that forced "twang" that lingers on some of Shenandoah's songs.
A definite buy.Humble Name, Real Roots Rock LegendsThe follow-up to the original "best of" NGDB collection, More Great Dirt, consists of more of the 80's country hits during their long career. The NGDB was once a folk and country-rock band, but the majority of the songs on More Great Dirt come from their mainstream country days, which were the most overlooked of their albums. They really had no one big radio hit during this time (except for "Fishin' In the Dark), which hurts this record, as does the fact that it is very overshadowed by the "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" albums that were huge hits. The highlights of the album include the summertime hit "Fishin' in the Dark," Bruce Springsteen's "Cadillac Ranch," and the rocking "Down That Road Tonight." It is too bad that there are only ten tracks here. In my opinion, this isn't up to par with the classic NGDB, but it is still good, quality country and folk. A good purchase if you want an overview of their latter days.Another great NGDB "best of" collectionMore Great Dirt is the follow-up to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's previous "best of" collection, Twenty Years Of Dirt. This record, like Twenty Years Of Dirt, consists mainly of hit songs from the '80s, the period when NGDB made a transition from being a progressive country-rock band to a mainstream country act. Like Twenty Years Of Dirt, More Great Dirt is a solid collection of the Dirt Band's hit songs. Indeed, in my opinion, this record tops Twenty Years of Dirt despite its lack of a "classic" NGDB hit song(for instance, "Mr. Bojangles" and "Long Hard Road"). Even if hardly anybody listens to these songs a long time from now, I think the songs the Dirt Band chose to put on More Great Dirt are among their best. This record may have gotten overlooked by some listeners because NGDB released it in '89, the same year they came out with their platinum-selling Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 2. After listening to More Great Dirt, however, I don't think you should pass it up. By itself, it's a great record.Like other Dirt Band records I have, this one has a lot of highlights. It starts out with NGDB's version of "Cadillac Ranch", the classic Bruce Springsteen song, with lead vocals by Jeff Hanna and Jimmy Ibbotson. There are also Ibbotson's joyful ballad "Oh What A Love"; the upbeat summer song "Fishin' In The Dark", which topped the country charts in '87; Hanna and Ibbotson's toe-tapping song "I've Been Lookin'"; "Workin' Man(Nowhere To Go)", charter NGDB member Jimmie Fadden's song about the tribulations of the displaced farmer; and the rocking songs "Baby's Got A Hold On Me" and "Down That Road Tonight". Finally, the Dirt Band, as they did on Twenty Years Of Dirt, included their best songs from the early '80s. Besides "Cadillac Ranch", NGDB's early '80s hits which are on here include "Home Again In My Heart", "I Love Only You", and "Face On The Cutting Room Floor". There are no Bob Carpenter lead vocals here(unlike "Stand A Little Rain" on Twenty Years Of Dirt), but Carpenter's solid piano and accordion work are obvious on most of the songs. On More Great Dirt, NGDB not only matched Twenty Years Of Dirt, but they did even better. My only criticism of this record--and my gripe is a minor one--is that, like a previous reviewer, I don't think it's long enough. Ten songs don't completely capture NGDB's musical ability, and I think some of my fellow Dirt Band fans will complain that even after a couple of "best of" collections, there are still some NGDB hit songs that haven't made it onto a "best of" album. Still, I don't see how anybody wouldn't like this record. There are no obvious attempts by the Dirt Band to appeal to their "pop" fans(which is what I think "Fire In The Sky" was on Twenty Years Of Dirt). Instead, what you'll get when you listen to More Great Dirt is a great collection of hit country songs by a group who makes high-quality music even if their songs don't always end up on the charts. Don't miss this one--I think you'll be impressed. |
