Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 3

Disc 1
1	Take Me in Your Lifeboat / Robbie McCoury 3:41
2	Milk Cow Blues / Doc Watson 5:04
3	I Find Jesus 3:54
4	Hold Whatcha Got / Jimmy Martin 2:55
5	Mama's Opry / Iris DeMent 4:23
6	Diamonds in the Rough / June Carter Cash 3:39
7	Lonesome River / Sam Bush 4:23
8	Some Dark Holler / T Double 3:19
9	The Lowlands / Jonathan McEuen 3:50
10	Love, Please Come Home / Robbie McCoury 2:49
11	Goodnight Irene / Willie Nelson 4:30
12	I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome 3:49
13	I'll Be Faithful to You / Emmylou Harris 2:33
14	Tears in the Holston River 4:14
Disc 2
1	Fishin' Blues / Taj Mahal 4:32
2	Save It, Save It / Jimmy Martin 1:58
3	Wheels / T Double 3:16
4	Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms / Willie Nelson 3:56
5	Oh Cumberland / Matraca Berg 4:22
6	I Am a Pilgrim / Doc Watson 4:09
7	Sallie Ann / Earl Scruggs Instrumental 2:38
8	Catfish John / Alison Krauss 4:07
9	Roll the Stone Away 4:10
10	All Prayed Up / Vince Gill 3:10
11	Return to Dismal Swamp, Pt. 2 / Glen Duncan Instrumental 3:18
12	There Is a Time / Rodney Dillard 3:33
13	Will the Circle Be Unbroken / Doc Watson 4:39
14	Farther Along / Randy Scruggs Instrumental 6:03

Barnes & Noble

Three decades after their landmark bluegrass and old-time country celebration, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, the concept remains not only viable but, in the wake of O Brother, Where Art Thou?'s runaway success, as timely as ever. The ongoing projects seem limited only by the depth of the roots music well from which the band draw -- and by the sound of this third expansive installment, that's a mighty deep spring. Vol. III embraces the blues a bit more directly than did the first two volumes, primarily via Taj Mahal, who turns in another winning performance of his timeless "Fishing Blues" and a stirring trio rendition of the title track with Alison Krauss and Doc Watson. The collection also pulls in Tom Petty from the rock world for a duet with Willie Nelson on Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene." Otherwise, Vol. III is a lot about family, literally: Doc Watson is here with his grandson Richard Watson; Del McCoury brings some bristling bluegrass to the party along with his sons Ronnie and Robbie; co-producer Randy Scruggs' visionary father, Earl, is featured on two cuts, including the Carter Family's "Diamonds in the Rough," on which he accompanies June Carter Cash, whose husband, Johnny, closes out the first disc with a new song, one of the best he's ever written. The hymnlike "Tears on the Holston River" is a moving, poetic account of the death of Maybelle and Sara Carter, set in the shadow of Clinch Mountain, with Cash's ragged, rugged voice revealing sadness, not to mention love and respect, over the passing of these matriarchs. Reveling in bluegrass, blues, gospel, hard country, and folk blues, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band -- along with a host of big-name pals, including Vassar Clements, Jimmy Martin, Dwight Yoakam, Matraca Berg, Emmylou Harris, and Iris Dement -- once again bring together the past and the present without a hitch. This circle not only remains unbroken, it keeps getting stronger. David McGee

All Music Guide

Like a comet that periodically returns and lights up the sky, the Will the Circle Be Unbroken series manages to be predictable and illuminating at the same time. Once again, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band draws an assembly of deities and wannabes around the campfire. Some of these are familiar, though veterans from the first volume have grown scarce: Doc Watson plays "I Am a Pilgrim" as a tribute to the late Merle Travis, who cut the same tune on the 1972 Circle session. Jimmy Martin returns too, his galloping, almost-reckless delivery undimmed by the years. From the 1989 sequel comes Johnny Cash, whose "Tears in the Holston River" eulogizes Maybelle Carter, his mother-in-law and the soul of the first Circle. New faces take the place of those who have departed: Willie Nelson is a logical addition, though his duet partner, Tom Petty, sounds uncomfortable and awkward on "Goodnight, Irene." Emmylou Harris assumes her place in this pantheon, her voice breaking hearts even in harmony with Matraca Berg on "Oh, Cumberland." No performance stands out more than that of Taj Mahal, whose presence has a demographic significance and whose rollicking rendition of "Fishin' Blues" nearly steals the show. But Mahal also contributes to the album's only serious blemish: On the inevitable title cut, he and the other soloists play with a solemnity that deletes the song's communal energies. A congregational enthusiasm distinguished its performance on the first album; here, the singers -- particularly Alison Krauss -- pass it along, verse by verse, as if it were priceless china. This music is about soul, not trepidation, so it's to everyone's credit that such moments are scarce here. Let's hope that they don't dress it up with string samples or breakbeats once Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 4 rolls around. Robert Doerschuk