That High Lonesome Sound
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: D Short Films: B-
In the gritty black and white documentary production of
the early 1960s, three key short films were made by director John Cohen that
deal with traditional music coming out of the struggles and life experiences of
those who made it.
The DVD is named after the first short, That High
Lonesome Sound – Kentucky Mountain Music was made in 1963 and features Eric
Clapton’s “favorite country musician” – Roscoe Holcomb. Bill Monroe even surfaces in the end. The End Of An Old Song features a
cappella ballad vocalist Dillard Chandler, who was one of the very last in a
long line of such proud singers. The
film shows his art being pushed out by recorded music and he and his family being
left behind in profound ways. That he
did this film was very brave and bold.
That he is in poverty for the talent he has is point blank outrageous. Sara & Maybelle (1967) are
sisters form the legendary Carter Family, who made Country Music possible as a
big genre in this country to begin with.
The people in all three shorts are unsung American heroes.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 images from each short come from
older analog masters, as demonstrated by the yellowish tinge on each of the
monochrome presentations. This is
adequate at best, but will have to be redone for High Definition later down the
line. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is
also adequate, but know that these were monophonic films to begin with. There are no extras, but the films equal 70
minutes in all, and they weave a very important portrait of the struggle of
many great Americans in the past too often forgotten. They are not only worth a look, but their music is some of the
most important ever to come out of the United States and these will turn out to
be more and more important moments of history as this century goes on and more
legends get the credit they are due.
- Nicholas Sheffo
