Dirt, Silver & Gold

Performer: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Artist: Doc Watson; Vassar Clements; Norman Blake; Byron Berline; Jimmy Martin; Roy Acuff
Producer: William E. McEuen
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Ralph Barr, Jimmie Fadden, Jeff Hanna, Bruce Kunkel, Les Thompson, John McEuen, Chris Darrow, Jim Ibbotson, Jackie Clark, John Cable. Additional personnel: Mother Maybelle Carter (vocals); Jim Gordon, Russ Kunkel, Byron Berline, Johnny Sandlin, Michele Rubini, Maury Manseau, Scruggs, Junior Husky, Bernie Mysior, Bobby Carpenter, Bobby Mason, Brian Savage, David James Holster, Hayden Gregg, Earl, Gary And Randy. Dirt, Silver & Gold started life as a daunting triple-LP compilation in 1976, summing up the highlights of the group's first decade, and later found a second life of sorts on CD from One Way Records. Anyone who owns One-Way Records' reissue of Dirt, Silver & Gold should take a good, long look at this reissue from BGO, which not only features vastly superior sound on its 37 songs -- each remastered from what sounds like the original master tape, recompiled for this release and featuring crisp, loud sound -- but also corrects the one major flaw in the One-Way release -- the absence of any annotation. This slipcased, narrow double-CD set carries us from the early days of the Dirt Band as a novelty act to their blossoming as a folk-bluegrass-blues hybrid and their plunge into country music; John Tobler's excellent notes provide a detailed history covering every step of their development from the mid-1960s through the early 1990s, offering a quick update to 2003 and their current lineup. ~ Bruce Eder

Their earliest incarnation was as a large, fun-loving jug-band/trad folk group in mid-1960s California. Eventually the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band evolved into a tight, critically lauded country-rock ensemble, and had a Top Ten hit in 1970 with the poignant "Mr. Bojangles." The band was also legendary for assembling informal recording sessions with Nashville veterans such as Merle Travis and Roy Acuff, the results of which, 1972's MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, inspired two more volumes, a 30th anniversary reissue, and a box set. Through many lineup changes and a brief name change (the Dirt Band), their career has extended through the millennium and shows no signs of letting up.

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