Down from the Mountain: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (CD - 2001)

Recorded live at Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee on May 24, 2000. Includes liner notes by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, T Bone Burnett & Jay Orr.

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Featuring many of the artists who cut music for the Coen Brothers film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," the concert recorded for DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN happened long before the film's soundtrack resurrected interest in roots music, topped the country charts, and went platinum without the benefit of radio airplay. Presented using classic instruments and vintage microphones, this album mostly consists of traditional fare that rings with purity and kicks off with the Fairfield Four delivering a goosebump-inducing retelling of the a cappella wood-chopping work song "Po' Lazarus."

Other standout performances include The Whites pumping rich harmonies into "Sandy Land," Alison Krauss & Union Station serving up a sweet version of Bill Monroe's "Blue And Lonesome," and the Cox Family getting sanctified on the gospel of "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown." Fitting in neatly are originals by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (the Delmore Brothers-flavored "I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll") and the duo of Chris King and Colin Linden (the slide blues of "John Law Burned Down The Liquor Sto'.") The late John Hartford also makes one of his last recorded appearances with a playful reading of the late- '20s country nugget "Big Rock Candy Mountain." minimize