Calling all country/folk music fans !

[simon]

Hey all,

I see a lot of music being discussed in The Lounge but not really my kind So I've got to start my own thread here

So howdy pardners,
calling anyone who thinks that the sweetest sound is made by two acoustic guitars and two voices in harmony, anyone who considers that the purpose of music is to soothe and fill rather than get you hyper and pumped up , anyone who believes that the lyrics are as important to a song as breathing is to life, lets post!

Lets discuss on what's so special about folk/country....who your favourite artists are and your reasons for that.

From my side,
Fav country act - tough decision but it has to be Don Williams, he's got the authentic country touch to him, with his rugged, laidback style of singing, simple melodies and great lyrics
Fav folk act - much easier call, Simon&Garfunkel Amazing duo, great voices, especially Art, superb harmony that can leave you in a trance, Paul's exceptional songwriting skills..every adjective describing these guys has to be in the superlative

btw, ppl wanting to know WHY you should listen to folk/country, all you have to do is ask

[QuintEssence]

Originally Posted by simon

Hey all,

I see a lot of music being discussed in The Lounge but not really my kind So I've got to start my own thread here So howdy pardners,
calling anyone who thinks that the sweetest sound is made by two acoustic guitars and two voices in harmony, anyone who considers that the purpose of music is to soothe and fill rather than get you hyper and pumped up , anyone who believes that the lyrics are as important to a song as breathing is to life, lets post!

good for ya, buddy !!

Originally Posted by simon

From my side,
Fav country act - tough decision but it has to be Don Williams
Fav folk act -Simon&Garfunkel :

Fav country act - ummm.. thats a good one that u pasted there but there r more contenders to the throne: Shania Twain, John Denver...umm even Dixie Chicks r good(though they r quite young)

Fav folk- I disagree..S & G are good..but its Bob Dylan whos is the king with his stream-of-consciousness narratives.........hey tambourine man

[guitar_killer]

Well hw can u miss to add...

Bluesfuze..B. B. King....John Lee Hooker...........Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble...tho nt more of folk bt ya...heavily they r hte favs of country and blues.......

[simon]

Fav folk- I disagree..S & G are good..but its Bob Dylan whos is the king with his stream-of-consciousness narratives.........hey tambourine man

Bob Dylan...hmmm...class act, top song-writer, no doubt. he really epitomized the spirit of rebellion and angst in the 60s but as a singer, I feel he left a lot to be desired..not the kind of voice you'd fall in love with the first time around But then again, I guess his voice was part of his personality..anyways, I always consider "blowing in the wind" to be one of the best songs written and I like the version by Dylan the best

btw, could anyone give me some links to where I could download contemporary folk music. The problem with this genre is that it just doesn't have a market in India..so, any folk music I listen to is always by the classic legends-S&G, Dylan, CSN,....the only recent artists I've heard are Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Calwin. There must be more. so someone help me out please....

[Wayne]

I love Country Music as well .

Don't have any fav. country artist but Kenny Rogers ranks quite high in my list ....."Lucille" and "Coward of the County" are among my favourites.....Never get tired of listening to them

Bob Dylan (Blowing in the wind), John Denver (Leaving on a Jetplane, Annie's Song) great as well

And talking about soothing music........Has anyone heard Jim Reeves? ......Truly a magical voice.....Four Walls, I'm gonna change everything, Roses are Red, Across the Bridge.....I can go on and on and on


BTW, Simon....Don't have any links to download songs....but you could try the Classic Country/ Country stations on Launchcast/ Yahoo Messenger.....Pretty Good Collection of songs

Cheers,

Wayne

[MrAnderson]

don maclean's my favourite...
his lyrics are beautiful ..
there is a song called "castles in the air" which imlike very much apart frm american pie and vincent
apart frm tht .. wht little i hrd of don maclean has been gr8 ...
thts abt the most country(ish) songs ive hrd...
wht abt "tuesday's gone"...metallica..has a very country(ish) feel to it ..
(inspite of the met tag)
think its an adaptation of some country big wig's song..
somebody can fill in with info on this.
andy.

[QuintEssence]

Originally Posted by MrAnderson

wht abt "tuesday's gone"...metallica..has a very country(ish) feel to it ..
(inspite of the met tag)
think its an adaptation of some country big wig's song..
somebody can fill in with info on this.
andy

thats Lynyrd Skynyrd...from the album "Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd"

awesome song.

[simon]

Kenny Rogers ranks quite high in my list ....."Lucille" and "Coward of the County" are among my favourites

Aah, Wayne, the art of telling stories through songs ...On that line, you could add "The Gambler" and "Ruby, dont take your love to town" to the list.

don maclean's my favourite...
his lyrics are beautiful ..

completely agree,andy ....did you know that the Roberta Flack number "killing me softly with his song"was based on Don McLean...apparently, she was inspired to write the song after attending one of his concerts

[2fargon]

Hi,

Pleasantly surprised to see a Folk Music forum out here.....

I just don't seem to get enough of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Leadbelly from times past and am a big fan of Allison Kraus among the current singers.

If you can stream internet radio then www DOT folkalley DOT com is a wonderful find. Also the soundtracks of Cold Mountain and O Brother Where Art Thou......the second one is a gem.

I have a pretty decent collection of American and Celtic folk and am on the lookout for collections from other cultures....any pointers?

Funny isn't it that Folk music all over the world sounds so similar.....is there a deeper connection...I wonder.

[simon]

I just don't seem to get enough of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Leadbelly from times past and am a big fan of Allison Kraus among the current singers.

Allison Kraus?...how about a little more info on that...and do you know anything about the Indigo Girls?...any good?

I have a pretty decent collection of American and Celtic folk and am on the lookout for collections from other cultures....any pointers?

How about African folk, acapella style ?....distinctive vocals! You could check out Paul Simon's Graceland...a lot of African influence in it.

btw, dunno if everybody gets this cable channel called Voice of America(VOA), but there's a programme called "Mountain Stage" Thursday nights at 10:30 pm. It's a live stage performance show of contemporary folk/country with a little bit of blues and jazz thrown in...and yes, there are occasional celtic and african performers too..only goes to prove what 2fargon said about folk music being similar all over the world....hmmm...maybe it's because this kind of music forms the roots of all the other genres without any of their commercial trappings...and music, in its unadulterated form, sounds the same anywhere