Collected by
Mike Seeger from 1952 to 1967 as he roamed around the Appalachian Mountains,
Close to Home is one of the better detailed sets of authentic old-time Southern American music to be found. Though mostly recorded at the musician's home on a single, hand-held microphone, the warmth and charm of the performances captured make up for any supposed lack of recording quality, as
Seeger no doubt took great pains to document these archaic stylings before they died with their performers. Of the 38 tracks featured, some legends like Sara and
Maybelle Carter of the
Carter Family fame,
Elizabeth Cotten, and fiddler
Eck Robertson appear, though the majority are simply local legends or unknowns. As such, it might come as some surprise to hear the level of accomplishment reached by these common folks, as a few were even said to have been badly out of practice when recorded. A majority of the tracks are lively fiddle or banjo instrumentals, though a few harmonica workouts, gorgeous autoharp and dulcimer tunes, and a cappella tracks appear, as well. This is very honest music, without a hint of pretension, and one can only wonder how many similar talents lived and died without ever having shared their talents outside of their local community. Excellent liner notes composed by
Seeger himself give a wonderfully detailed commentary on how he came about to record the featured artists, and also place the performers within their historical context. There might be more complete collections on the market, but for the single-disc price and the amount of quality music here,
Close to Home is highly recommended. ~ Matt Fink