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Stars & Stripes Forever ReviewI first got interested in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's music after one of my sisters got the original "Circle" album, which came out in '72. While I was in college in Greeley, Colorado, I became a real fan of these guys and even saw them in concert when they played on campus. I've remained an NGDB fan since, although I haven't been back to one of their shows, and in my music collection, I have quite a few Dirt Band records on LP, CD and tape. Though some of the Dirt Band's albums have been allowed to go out of print because of record companies' concern with the "bottom line"(at least in my opinion), there is still a lot of good NGDB music out there. Stars and Stripes Forever, originally put out as a double LP in 1974 and re-released a few years ago on CD, is a classic NGDB concert album.
The record starts out with one solid Cajun rocker, the Hank Williams classic "Jambalaya On The Bayou", and closes with another great Cajun tune, Doug Kershaw's "Diggy Liggy Lo". In between, the Dirt Band has over an hour of good-time, toe-tapping music and even a little humor thrown in at times--for example, Jeff Hanna's sometimes offbeat recitations "The Aluminum Record Award" and "It Came From The Fifties(Blast From The Past)", along with Jimmie Fadden's "Fish Song" and "GloCoat Blues", are funny, well-done numbers. Of course, the NGDB classic "Mr. Bojangles" is on here. Hanna is in fine form singing lead, and John McEuen's mandolin and Jimmy Ibbotson's accordion also stand out. "Mr. Bojangles" is one Dirt Band song that I think sounds better live than it does in the studio. Another early '70s Dirt Band hit, "House At Pooh Corner", is a funky tune with a fine guitar solo by Fadden. The Dirt Band also scored a modest hit in the late '60s with the mellow folk-rock tune "Buy For Me The Rain", which is included on this record.
The rest of this record's material is a fine mix of country, rock and bluegrass. There are many notable tunes, besides the ones I've already mentioned. Michael Martin Murphey's classic country rocker "Cosmic Cowboy" is a fun, danceable number. Another upbeat Hank Williams song, "Honky Tonkin'", features Fadden playing a great harmonica part in addition to singing lead. Buddy Holly's classic "Oh Boy", in the Dirt Band's hands, is more country-sounding than Buddy's original. McEuen and guest musicians Les Thompson(an ex-Dirt Band member), Jerry Mills(who played guitar and mandolin with Michael Martin Murphey), and Vassar Clements stand out on the traditional bluegrass numbers "Dixie Hoedown", "Cripple Creek" and "Teardrops In My Eyes". There are a couple of strong tunes by guest fiddler Clements, the swing song "The Sheik Of Araby" and the traditional folk song "Listen To The Mockingbird". "My True Story", like "Oh Boy", pays tribute to Fifties music. The well-known march "Stars And Stripes Forever" serves as the introduction to the classic Jimmy Driftwood song "Battle Of New Orleans". The Dirt Band's version of "Battle Of New Orleans" is yet another Cajun rocker with some great fiddle work by McEuen. McEuen also backs himself up on banjo while he recites "Mountain Whippoorwill(Or, How Hillbilly Jim Won The Great Fiddler's Prize)". That one, like "Fish Song" and "It Came From The Fifties", is a solid example of Dirt Band humor. McEuen plays several different instruments on here(guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin). When John left NGDB in '87, he left a void that the band hasn't been able to fill, although the guys had hit records into the '90s.
I'm glad I found this classic Dirt Band record. Stars and Stripes Forever is a fun, well-done live set that features the NGDB guys at their best. If you want a great Dirt Band album, I suggest that you check this one out. You might really enjoy it--I sure did.
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