Oh Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? American Songs from the Depression Era

1	I Ain't Got No Home / Peter Brown 3:58
2	Freight Train Blues / Benny Martin 2:57
3	Big Rock Candy Mountain / Maggie Griffin 1:26
4	Brother Can You Spare a Dime? / Tim O'Brien 3:27
5	May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister / Mac Wiseman 3:09
6	No Depression in Heaven / Peter Rowan 3:20
7	In the Jailhouse Now / Ralph Smith 1:55
8	Jimmy Brown the Newsboy / Mac Wiseman 2:03
9	Boll Weevil / Tommy Faile 2:17
10	There'll Be No Distinction There / Tim O'Brien 3:45
11	Cocaine Blues / Merle Travis 2:53
12	I'll Fly Away / Osborne Brothers 2:23
13	Waiting for a Train / Grandpa Jones 1:47
14	Cannonball Blues / Arthur Smith 2:41
15	Peach Pickin' Time in Georgia / Merle Travis 3:15
16	Eddie's Matchbox Blues / Eddie Adcock 3:12
17	Heaven Bound Train / Carl Story 2:12
18	Angel Band / Carl Story 3:43

All Music Guide

Released on CMH Records (the company that puts out the Pickin' On series), Oh Brother, Can You Spare a Dime collects Depression-era songs done by recent and contemporary bluegrass artists, although the most effective tracks here aren't really bluegrass at all, like Peter Rowan's folky take on "No Depression in Heaven" or Tim O'Brien's version of the title tune. Merle Travis' impressive "Cocaine Blues" is hardly bluegrass, either, and the Osborne Brothers' soaring dual-fiddle rendition of "I'll Fly Away" is bluegrass of a different stripe, retaining some old string band qualities. In the end, the emotional kick of these venerable old songs of desperation, dwindling possibilities, and defiant but skewed optimism is what carries the day, rather than the genre in which they are presented. Steve Leggett