Mark Twain: A Film Directed by Ken Burns

1	Made in the Image of God / Kevin Conway 0:22
2	Sweet Betsy from Pike 3:28
3	Dogue Creek 3:04
4	Wagoner's Lad 1:05
5	Howl 2:30
6	Mighty Big River 1:45
7	Shadow on the Marsh 2:04
8	Poor Wayfarin's Stranger 2:34
9	Shuckin' the Bush 2:58
10	How Can I Keep from Singing 2:26
11	Ol Voices 0:41
12	For Ireland I'd Not Tell Her Name 3:27
13	When Tomorrow Comes 3:02
14	Wagoner's Lad 2:12
15	The Falls 2:18
16	Ties That Bind 1:05
17	Rosin' the Bow 1:16
18	Amelia 1:33
19	"Shakespear Is Dead" / Kevin Conway 0:17
20	Dill Pickle Rag 2:12
21	Hard Times 1:23
22	Hard Times 2:26
23	Sweet Betsy from Pike 4:59
24	Maple Leaf Rag 3:10
25	"Two Unaccountable Freaks" / Kevin Conway 0:28
26	Sweet Betsy from Pike 1:33
27	How Can I Keep from Singing 4:08
28	Advice for Arrival in Heavens 0:46
29	Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 2:12

Barnes & Noble

The world of the legendary author and wit Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is vividly captured on this companion recording to Ken Burns's documentary. Dominated by the extravagantly talented Bobby Horton, who excels on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and concertina, among other instruments, the soundtrack evokes the folksy sound of the Mississippi and its environs. . Horton performs bright versions of hardy traditional classics and spirituals, including "Sweet Betsy from Pike," "Poor Wayfarin' Stranger," "How Can I Keep from Singing," and "Hard Times." Jacqueline Schwab also weighs in with a few delicate piano selections, and John Owen "Fiddlin' Johnny" Lardinois leads a bouncy "Shuckin' the Bush" and "Dill Pickle Rag" Among the other featured performers are Prairie Home Companion favorite Peter Ostroushko. The effect of this carefully selected music is a sometimes wistful, sometimes spirited, 19th-century pastoral, evoking an age when folk traditions were still very much alive in this country. Interspersed among the musical selections are a handful of short, pungent monologues by actor Kevin Conway that convey Twain's caustic folk genius. -- William Pearl

All Music Guide

This is the soundtrack to documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' PBS television series Mark Twain, performed by folk musicians recreating the sound of American folk, popular, and spiritual music circa the late-19th century. Some of the songs would have been familiar in Twain's time, such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Poor Wayfarin' Stranger," "Maple Leaf Rag," and "Sweet Betsy From Pike." Others were written after Twain's death, but have a similar feel of Americana from the late 1800s, and a handful were actually written specifically for the soundtrack. Most of the 29 selections are performed either by Alabama multi-instrumentalist Bobby Horton or pianist Jacqueline Schwab, both of whom had collaborated with Burns on several of his previous documentaries, such as his well-known Civil War series, which used similar music. If you've seen that or other Burns documentary projects like Baseball and Lewis and Clark, you know what to expect: homespun, laid-back sounds that are evocative of past times. They're a little nostalgic and corny, and impeccably executed, though in a manner that emphasizes their utility as backing tracks, rather than expressing much individuality or interpretation on the part of the performers. Five of the tracks are brief spoken excerpts of Twain's writings, read by actor Kevin Conway. Richie Unterberger