filled celebration of a surprisingly complex art form
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In such previous documentary series as “The Vietnam War,” “Baseball,” cheap canada goose “Jazz” and “The Civil War,” filmmaker Ken Burns has dug deep into American history, shedding light on dark places and celebrating moments of triumph.
The eight part, 16 hour “Country Music,” which premieres on PBS Sept. 15, has all the earnestness that is Burns’ trademark.
In place of somber tales of deadly battles, divisive racial politics and discrimination, much https://www.estrategias.de of “Country Music” is a toe tapping celebration of legendary performers and, above all else, the enduring songs they wrote and made famous.
At times, it’s bit jarring to hear narrator Peter Coyote gravely cheap canada goose jacket womens tell canada goose birmingham uk us about the hard scrabble lives so many country artists came from, then shift to the gossipy saga of the marital canada goose expedition parka uk struggles of George Jones canada goose black friday 80 off and Tammy Wynette.
But even when “Country Music” slows the pace to linger on why Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You,” for example, it offers up an canada goose uk size guide overflowing well of songs we love, or quickly learn to love. If “Jazz” was a combination of arts education and appreciation, “Country Music” is the Burns equivalent of a jukebox musical. canada goose online uk reviews The wonderful songs just keep coming.
“Country Music” also does a fine job illustrating what a fast moving river the art form has always been, made wider and deeper by how it incorporated imported instruments like the fiddle, the banjo and the guitar; Celtic ballads; Appalachian tunes; gospel; hymns; blues; Tin Pan Alley crowd pleasers; minstrel show numbers, and much more.
Though arguments canada goose baby uk have raged for decades about what constitutes true country music, the thesis of “Country Music” is that it’s never been one thing, but many things, evolving cheap canada goose mens with the times and tastes, and transformed by what individual artists bring to the form.
Bill Monroe on the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, canada goose outlet sale toronto circa 1958, as featured in “Country Music,” a documentary series from director Ken Burns. (Photo: Courtesy of Les Leverett Collection, Grand Ole Opry Archives/PBS)
“Country Music” takes us back to the early days, and into the 1920s, when radio stations canada goose outlet Canada Goose online broadcast live performances by country artists, a trend that picked up steam as listeners far and wide began tuning in (and which, at times, closely parallels plot points in “O, Brother, Where Art Thou?,” the Coen brothers’ tribute to old time music). 15 on PBS, reveals that country music is an art form more complex than stereotypes about “good old boys” in pickup trucks would suggest.
The film, which begins with early days and ends its story in 1996, follows the biggest trends in country music. There are stops along the cheap canada goose vest trail for Western swing; Gene Autry and other singing cowboys in the movies; Elvis Presley and the Beatles being influenced by country; and how such evolutions as the smooth Nashville Sound, the more electric Bakersfield Sound, Countrypolitan and Outlaw Country, wrangled new fans and divided purists, who didn’t always cotton to such newfangled developments.
The original Carter Family, as seen in a circa 1930 photo.
“Country Music” is at its best when it pauses to revel in the brilliance of greats like Johnny Cash, Parton and Hank Williams, who also had a tragically brief life, but whose songwriting gifts earn canada goose outlet parka him the title, “The Hillbilly Shakespeare.”
The film is full of moments that may make you choke up. Just try not to shed a tear at vintage clips of Parton and Loretta Lynn, women from humble roots who brought a female perspective and strong presence to country music. We won’t judge you if you reach for the tissues after hearing the understated but heartbreaking tale of Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty,” beautifully recorded by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. canada goose outlet germany And if there’s a dry eye in canada goose outlet washington dc the house after Rosanne Cash recalls singing, “I Still Miss Someone,” with her father, Johnny Cash, after years of stress between them, well, you’re stronger than we are.
Running through the series are wonderfully touching interview segments with canada goose jacket outlet store country artists. Like Rosanne Cash, they often begin singing a cappella, recalling favorite songs or performers. The deep admiration and expertise the musicians have for their art form, and those who have gone before especially when the interview subjects, like Merle Haggard, have since died fills “Country Music” with warmth and affection.
