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Re: Square Dance Music???

I'm going to assume you're not adopting your "provocatuer" tact (which may be folly on my part), and assume you are relaying an honest opinion. By the way, I don't have a problem with provocatuers -- especially in a forum like this.

Soncially, I think this recording is outstanding. Is it the best of the best? Probablly not. But for this type of record (i.e., non-classical, non-jazz), the sonics are about as good as they get. You reference the Jim Hall record? I'm BUYING it, if it's better than this one. So thank you!

What I do have to take issue with, and I hesitate because I can't believe a guy who actually got through law school, a guy with the very considerable frame of reference you display on this forum so frequently, could be characterize this recording as mere "square dance music." It is in this aspect that I think you are resorting to your "provocateur" guise.

Let me first say that I ain't got nuttin against square dance music -- if it's good music, that is. But, however you characterize the music on this record, it's hard to overlook the exquisite selection of material here. "Just Because"? ... a folksy, sly commentary on the influence of money in relationships, with tasty double entendtres. "Blues Stay Away from Me"? ... a poignant, earnest and obviously futile prayer for a life free from perturbation. "What are They Doing in Heaven Today"? ... a meditation on the loss of those who've passed on which redounds upon itself and seems undermine the whole concept of an afterlife and the basis of religeous faith itself.

I find the lyrics on this record rich and resonant ... and the folk idiom of its music, to me, authenticates them with the weight of real life experience. Kaukonen has done us all a great service, in assembling these classics and performing them with such reverence and dignity. Just one guy's opinion.



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