Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Having a lot of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band music in my collection, I decided to get the Farther Along DVD. This live performance features the five Dirt Band guys--Jeff Hanna, Jimmy Ibbotson, Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter, and John McEuen--along with a number of high-quality guest artists. The guest performers include Jimmy Martin, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, John Hiatt, Vassar Clements, Jerry Douglas, Earl Scruggs, the McCoury Band(Dale, Robbie and Ronnie), Rosanne Cash, Taj Mahal, and Iris DeMent. The cast of performers is stellar, and there are a lot of highlights.The performance gets off to a rousing start. Jimmy Martin, a veteran bluegrass performer, has appeared on all of NGDB's Will The Circle Be Unbroken records, and his rendition of "My Walkin' Shoes"(from the Dirt Band's original Circle album) draws a lot of applause. From then on, things get even better. Alison Krauss' vocals shine on "Catfish John". The McCourys' "Love Please Come Home" is a traditional bluegrass tune. "Mama's Opry", sung by Iris DeMent, and "Oh Cumberland", with Matraca Berg(Mrs. Jeff Hanna) singing, are both tender ballads. John Hiatt and Rosanne Cash perform "One Step Over The Line", which they sang on the Dirt Band's second Circle album. Earl Scruggs does some awesome banjo picking on "Earl's Breakdown". On Earl's classic tune, Vassar Clements plays fiddle, Jerry Douglas plays dobro, and Randy Scruggs backs up his father on lead guitar. "All Prayed Up", sung by Vince Gill, and "I Find Jesus", with NGDB's Ibbotson singing lead, are solid gospel numbers. Blues artist Taj Mahal's "Fishin' Blues" is a bouncy, humorous number. The show-stealing performance, however, is "The Lowlands", featuring vocals and guitar work by Jaime Hanna and Jonathan McEuen--the sons, respectively, of NGDB members Jeff Hanna and John McEuen. Jaime and Jonathan, in my opinion, are every bit as talented as their fathers. The entire cast of performers joins NGDB on "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", which by now has become a Dirt Band classic. A major strength of this DVD is the Dirt Band's performance of music which emphasizes their bluegrass and straight country roots as opposed to their modern country songs which have brought them commercial success while still drawing from their traditional sound.Besides the Dirt Band's live concert performance, the Farther Along DVD has some excellent bonus material. First off, the extras include three additional songs which were in NGDB's original live show: Earl Scruggs and John McEuen's banjo instrumental "Soldier's Joy", the McCourys' "Take Me In Your Lifeboat", and Rosanne Cash's "Wildwood Flower". Maybelle Carter sang the latter song on the Dirt Band's first Circle album, and Rosanne's version is nearly as good. The music video of "The Lowlands", which got some airplay on Great American Country, is also included here, and I think the video is well-done with some great scenery. Finally, Farther Along includes a documentary about the making of the third Circle album, featuring interviews with the members of the Dirt Band and the guest artists as well as behind-the-scenes studio footage. Those of you who like NGDB--or just like music in general--will enjoy this "up close and personal" look at the Dirt Band. It features a stellar concert performance as well as a backstage look at how things all came together.

This is an excellent concert dvd, 1st Class all the way. It's contains excellent roots music, and consists mainly of bluegrass.The DVD is as follows:The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performs on every track, but most tracks contain collaborations with steller guest musicians as follows:1.My Walkin' Shoes - with Jimmy Martin2.Catfish John - Alison Krass, Jerry Douglas, Randy Scruggs3.One Step Over the Line - John Hiatt, Rosanne Cash, Jerry Douglas4.Roll the Stone Away5.Love, Please Come Home - Del McCoury, Ronnie & Robbie McCoury6.All Prayed Up - Vince Gill7.Oh Cumberland - Matraca Berg8.Fishin' Blues - Taj Mahal, Vasser Clements9.The Lowlands - Jaime Hanna & Johnathan McEuen10.Return to the Dismal Swamp II - Jerry Douglas11.Earl's Breakdown - Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Vasser Clements, Jerry Douglas12.I Find Jesus13.Mama's Opry - Iris DeMent with Matraca Berg14.Will the Circle Be Unbroken - All MusiciansThe bonus material is excellent, you get some extra songs from the concert, including Rosanne Cash singing the Carter Family Classic, the "Wildwood Flower".Plus, you get a video of "The Lowlands", and then plenty of behind the scenes material. This one is 1st Class all the way, and I highly recommend it. Thanks!!!!

Hello everybody,I am not from the US and I am not the typical country music fan, but I like - what I call - hand made music, where "natural" instruments are used and you can define a) the instruments and b) whether the guy playing it is capable in doing it.For this the DVD is like paradise, really. I enjoyed it from start to end. There is hardly any weak song on this DVD and the musical capabilities of the Dirt Band and their very excellent guests are a real pleasure. Sometimes I would like to jump into the scene and contribute my (meagre) possible share in this music.Once again, I love it, I love the song collection, all these plucked string instruments and good old Jimmy's harmonica, I love the melodies, many of them in the sing-along style.Among the guest musicians my "string hero" Jerry Douglas on his dobros should get a special mention.This DVD reflects a concert of shear joy in good music.If you like something like that - why don't you join the club of these DVD owners .-)

What can one say? This is a dream coming true for anybody interested in Bluegrass, Country Rock, Singer/Songwriter or any other type of acoustic music, and to those who grew up on the very first "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" project. The music speaks for itself: each and every performance is unique, and even artists who are genuine different in style are kept together perfectly by the sheer unlimited versatility of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Moreover, the presence of everyone onstage is captured brilliantly on film, and the musical interaction is well synchronised in pictures. A special highlight to my own taste are the arrangements of two traditional Gospel songs, "All Prayed Up" and "I Find Jesus", presented in Scruggs-style finger-picking on the guitar by John McEuen, otherwise best known for his banjo skills. These and the overall title "Farther Along" underline the spiritual quality within this music, as it is an expression of pure emotion. Add the superb live sound, and each possible superlative has been exhausted. A sad notion: Vassar Clements has passed away. If it wasn't for his recordings alone, this film will be his stairway to eternity.

Although the item being rated region 1 , I own region 2, and a Multi - Region player specially for US imported DVD's hence my region 1 purchase, I was pleased the DVD played on all my DVD players so cannot complain there. If your a lover of all music including blue grass country music then this is a must buy for your collection.

Ich bin eher zufällig über den Hinweis von amazon.de auf diese traumschöne DVD der Dirt-Band gestolpert, die bereits in 2003 von Capitol Records heraus gebracht wurde. Es handelt sich hierbei um einen 17 Songs umfassenden Live-Konzert-Mitschnitt der inhaltlich das  Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 3 -Album des Jahres 2002 aufgreift. Diese Instrumenten-Meister der Nitty Gritty Dirt Band nicht nur zu hören, sondern auch zu sehen und ihr virtuoses Spiel zu bewundern, ist den Kauf dieser DVD sofort wert. Bild- und Tonqualität der DVD sind m.E. super. Jedoch habe ich kein ausgefeiltes Surround-System, dem vielleicht die eine oder andere Schwäche auffiele. Ich hab' das Konzert einfach nur genossen, auch wenn Taj Mahal mit "Fishin' Blues" nicht so gut 'rüberkommt, wie auf der CD! Und ich war froh darüber, dass mein Toshiba-BluRay-Player sofort die DVD akzeptierte, da mir zuvor nicht ersichtlich war, welchem Regional-Code die DVD zuzuordnen ist.Auf der o.a. Doppel-CD finden sich 28 Stücke. Hier sind's nur 14 Songs im Hauptmenü. Greift man dann auf das Zusatz-Menü zu, so finden sich weitere 3 Songs (u.a. die für die Country-Music existenzielle "Wildwood Flower"), leider jedoch nicht das dem Album namengebende "Farther Along". Die Songliste umfasst: 1. My Walkin' Shoes (feat. Jimmy Martin) - 2. Catfish John (feat. Alison Kraus, Jerry Douglas, Randy Scruggs) - 3. One Step over the Line (feat. John Hiatt, Rosanne Cash, Jerry Douglas) - 4. Roll the Stone away - 5. Love, please come home (feat. Del, Robbie and Ronnie McCoury) - 6. All prayed up (feat. Vince Gill) - 7. Oh, Cumberland (feat. Matraca Berg) - 8. Fishin' Blues (feat. Taj Mahal, Vassar Clements) - 9. The Lowlands (feat. Jaime Hanna, Jonathan McEuen) - 10. Return to Dismal Swamp II (feat. Jerry Douglas) - 11. Earl's Breakdown (feat. Earl and Randy Scruggs, Vassar Clements, Jerry Douglas) - 12. I find Jesus - 13. Mama's Opry (feat. Iris DeMent, Matraca Berg) 14. Will the Circle be unbroken (alle Interpreten).Im Zusatz-Menü folgen dann noch 15. Soldier's Joy (feat. Earl Scruggs) - 16. Wildwood Flower (feat. Rosanne Cash, Randy Scruggs) - 17. Take me in your Lifeboat (feat. Del, Robbie and Ronnie McCoury), sowie eine Dokumentation über das Konzert und ein Musik-Video der Hanna- und McEuen-Söhne Jamie Hanna und Jonathan McEuen: "The Lowlands". Gerade hier ergibt sich das Thema des ununterbrochenen Kreises: War beim ersten Circle-Konzert noch Mother Maybelle mit dabei und suchte man bei Jeff Hanna, John McEuen und den anderen Band-Mitgliedern die grauen Haare noch vergeblich, so finden sich nun auf dieser DVD (und natürlich auch auf der CD) die großen Söhne neben den ergrauten (John McEuen!) Koryphäen-Vätern. Und so weiß man: Es wird weiter gehen, der Kreis wird nicht unterbrochen, was sicherlich auch A.P. Carter, Mother Maybelle und Sarah Carter, Johnny Cash und June Carter Cash und seit dem 28.03.2012 auch Earl Scruggs im Country-Himmel freuen wird!Fazit: Wer die "Will the Circle be unbroken"-Alben und die Nitty Gritty Dirt Band schätzt und/oder verehrt, der sollte hier fix zugreifen! Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 3

Worth every penny if you love NGDB!!Lots of great interviews and lots of great playing!!

An American treasure.

I enjoyed the video very much