O Sister 2: A Women's Bluegrass Collection

1	If Wishes Were Horses / Claire Lynch 2:35
2	Silver Tongue and Gold Plated Lies / Suzanne Thomas 3:26
3	Sad Situation / Delia Bell 2:27
4	True Life Blues / Alice Gerrard 2:36
5	Lonesome Wind Blues / Rhonda Vincent 3:01
6	Pardon Me / The Cox Family 2:44
7	Old River / Hazel Dickens 2:59
8	You Tried to Ruin My Name / Wilma Lee Cooper 2:27
9	I Can't Find Your Love Any More / Hazel Dickens 2:35
10	Just Like Rain / Laurie Lewis 2:15
11	Mama's Hand / Lynn Morris 4:13
12	Every Time You Say Goodbye / Alison Krauss 3:17
13	Blue / Stevens Sisters 2:39
14	Time Is Winding Up / Carol Elizabeth Jones 4:17
15	Blow, Big Wind / Laurie Lewis 2:52
16	Will There Be Any Stars? / The Cox Family 3:12
17	The Last Old Shovel / Phyllis Boyens 2:21
18	Comin' Down from God / Carol Elizabeth Jones 2:42
19	Eight More Miles / Laurie Lewis 2:42

Barnes & Noble

Once as rare a sight as J-Lo in a burqa, women have been assuming a higher profile in bluegrass since Alison Krauss arrived on the scene in 1987. Men still dominate, but O Sister proves women have made contributions every bit as important as those of male artists in the past decade. The 19 cuts here show a remarkable diversity of styles under the contemporary bluegrass rubric while also demonstrating each artist's solid sense of the music's roots. Wilma Lee Cooper's remorseless scolding of the man who done her wrong on "You Tried to Ruin My Name" typifies an adherence to a more rustic style that not only serves her well but also provides a compelling template for Delia Bell's heartbreaking waltz, "Sad Situation," and Lynn Morris's warm reading of Hazel Dickens's sepia-toned reminiscence, "Mama's Hand." Dickens shows off her own robust pipes on her rousing kiss-off song, "I Can't Find Your Love Any More," and on a stunning duet with Alice Gerrard of Bill Monroe's lowdown "True Life Blues." Rhonda Vincent, Alison Krauss, and the Cox Family represent a contemporary rethinking of the ancient tones by embracing pop arrangements and production, but it's done so subtly as to be almost subliminal in effect. The Cox Family's yearning, lilting spiritual, "Will There Be Any Stars?," rides easy on the graceful, western-style twin fiddling of producer Alison Krauss and the Family's Andrea Zonn and the stark banjo solos of Union Station's Ron Block supporting Suzanne Cox's fragile, expressive lead vocal. Vincent tears down the house on her "Lonesome Wind Blues," with its engaging instrumental byplay and high-lonesome harmonizing on the tuneful choruses. Krauss is a constant presence -- her impact apparent in the signature sound other artists have adopted -- as a producer as well as an artist. In the latter role she's represented by one of her most memorable recordings, "Every Time You Say Goodbye" (from the like-titled album), but in a real sense O Sister is all about what Alison Krauss has wrought. Claire Lynch, Suzanne Thomas, Kathy Kallick with Laurie Lewis, Lynn Morris, the Stevens Sisters, Ginny Hawker and Carol Elizabeth Jones, and Phyllis Boyens round out the lineup, and there isn't a bad song or an ill-considered turn of phrase to be heard among 'em. Makes a man want to holler, "O brother!" David McGee

Barnes & Noble

The follow-up to 2001's O Sister! women's bluegrass collection -- easily one of the year's best albums -- O Sister 2 lives up to its predecessor's high standard, and then some. Vocally, instrumentally, stylistically, and philosophically, the women featured here boast an adventurous spirit within a traditional bluegrass framework without sounding self-consciously old-timey or icily academic. That's as true for a staunch traditionalists such as the gritty North Carolinian Olabelle Reed on her rustic "High on a Mountain" as it is for the brilliant modern alchemist Alison Krauss, who turns in a deep and beautiful duet with Suzanne Cox on "Jewels," an exquisite exposition of the glories of the afterlife. Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard's Old West fable, "Montana Cowboy," is energized by some atmospheric, anxiety-riddled fiddling (by Tracy Schwarz) that would make Bernard Hermann proud, and in another of many instrumental highlights, the Wayfaring Strangers back Lucy Kaplansky and Jennifer Kimball's keening harmonies on "Memories of You" with some jazzy riffing that suggests a Middle Eastern melody. But really, the story is great voices singing powerful, haunting songs straight from some deep place in the collective human heart. With exemplary performances from Rhonda Vincent, Hazel Dickens (on three cuts), Wilma Lee Cooper, Tanya Savory, and Jeannie Kendall, this collection cuts deep and doesn't settle for merely providing a good time. It also aims to be meaningful, with songs boasting big themes and performances marked by conviction of purpose. Live with this one, and it'll light a path somewhere down the road. David McGee

All Music Guide

The latest in a lengthening string of releases designed to benefit from association with the Coen brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou? is this all-girl bluegrass compilation, which features on its cover the requisite stubbly cornfield and archaic font style. Opportunistic as the packaging may be, there's no arguing with the quality of the content. Generously packed with outstanding performances by women as stylistically disparate as Hazel Dickens, Claire Lynch, and Kathy Kallick, O Sister is a delightful celebration of several generations of criminally unheralded female bluegrass artists. The highlights are many, but particular standout tracks include Rhonda Vincent's rocking "Lonesome Wind Blues," the hard-edged mountain sound of Phyllis Boyens (backed up by Hazel Dickens and the Johnson Mountain Boys), and the clawhammer banjo-powered "Comin' Down From God" by the relatively unknown Carol Elizabeth Jones. The usual suspects are here too, of course, including Alison Krauss (on the exquisitely gentle and sweet "Every Time You Say Goodbye") and the Cox Family (twice). You might buy this one because you feel guilty about the way women have been neglected in the bluegrass world, but you'll keep coming back to it because the songs are just so dang good. Rick Anderson