Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Bruce Molsky's calm and reverent approach to the traditional banjo and fiddle tunes of the southern Appalachians pulls off a difficult hat trick: he manages to take the old melodies and make them sound fresh and new, even as he retains the feel, tone, and context of the original source material, creating the illusion of an unbroken line between then and now. That he does this without making albums that feel like dusty museum exercises or ridiculous parodies is a true achievement. On Contented Must Be, his fourth album for Rounder Records, Molsky follows the template of his previous releases, mixing in banjo, fiddle, and guitar instrumentals with a handful of well-chosen vocal tracks, all done up in an easy, back-porch style. A fine player on any instrument he picks up, Molsky's everyman baritone voice is the real secret ingredient here, and the reason his albums seem so approachable and timeless. There are plenty of high points to choose from, including Molsky's reconstruction of "Hills of Mexico," which draws and expands on Roscoe Holcomb's version, and the fiddle and vocal take on "Diamond Joe," best known in the wonderful 1937 field recording by Big Charlie Butler. Molsky grafts the North Carolina traditional fiddle tune "Green River" on as a coda, giving the song a swelling, emotional upswing at its tail. The real centerpieces on Contented Must Be, though, are two fiddle instrumentals. The duel-fiddle attack on "Blackberry Blossom" (with Darol Anger on baritone fiddle) makes for an edgy masterpiece, while Molsky comes close to equaling the soaring, eerie energy of Kentucky fiddler Luther Strong's original version of "Glory in the Meeting House," collected by Alan Lomax in the late '30s. Molsky doesn't step into radically new territory with this release, which is really the point. He doesn't need to. Making the old sound new, while retaining what makes it feel old in the first place, is a difficult line to walk. Bruce Molsky seems to do it effortlessly.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From CA$ 10.83/month
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Paul Brown, Banjo, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Paul Brown, Banjo, AssociatedPerformer - Ed Haley, ComposerLyricist - Mike Compton, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Banjo, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Ed Haley, ComposerLyricist - Mick Moloney, Banjo, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Audrey Molsky, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Darol Anger, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Vocals, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - John Arcand, ComposerLyricist - Audrey Molsky, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Mike Compton, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Audrey Molsky, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Vocals, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Mike Compton, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Audrey Molsky, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Darol Anger, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Mick Moloney, Banjo, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Audrey Molsky, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Mike Compton, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dudley Connell, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Banjo, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Paul Brown, Banjo, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Wolf, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronnie Freeland, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Molsky, Producer, Fiddle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Larose, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Album review
Bruce Molsky's calm and reverent approach to the traditional banjo and fiddle tunes of the southern Appalachians pulls off a difficult hat trick: he manages to take the old melodies and make them sound fresh and new, even as he retains the feel, tone, and context of the original source material, creating the illusion of an unbroken line between then and now. That he does this without making albums that feel like dusty museum exercises or ridiculous parodies is a true achievement. On Contented Must Be, his fourth album for Rounder Records, Molsky follows the template of his previous releases, mixing in banjo, fiddle, and guitar instrumentals with a handful of well-chosen vocal tracks, all done up in an easy, back-porch style. A fine player on any instrument he picks up, Molsky's everyman baritone voice is the real secret ingredient here, and the reason his albums seem so approachable and timeless. There are plenty of high points to choose from, including Molsky's reconstruction of "Hills of Mexico," which draws and expands on Roscoe Holcomb's version, and the fiddle and vocal take on "Diamond Joe," best known in the wonderful 1937 field recording by Big Charlie Butler. Molsky grafts the North Carolina traditional fiddle tune "Green River" on as a coda, giving the song a swelling, emotional upswing at its tail. The real centerpieces on Contented Must Be, though, are two fiddle instrumentals. The duel-fiddle attack on "Blackberry Blossom" (with Darol Anger on baritone fiddle) makes for an edgy masterpiece, while Molsky comes close to equaling the soaring, eerie energy of Kentucky fiddler Luther Strong's original version of "Glory in the Meeting House," collected by Alan Lomax in the late '30s. Molsky doesn't step into radically new territory with this release, which is really the point. He doesn't need to. Making the old sound new, while retaining what makes it feel old in the first place, is a difficult line to walk. Bruce Molsky seems to do it effortlessly.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 00:52:31
- Main artists: Bruce Molsky
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rounder
- Genre: Folk/Americana
© 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc. ℗ 2004 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.