HAZEL DICKENS
By The Sweat Of My Brow (Rounder)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Hazel Dickens left her native West Virginia long ago, trading the life of a preacher's daughter and coal miner's sister for the relative prosperity of factory work in Baltimore. Settled in the city, though, she soon fell into the local folk and bluegrass scene, mixing with the likes of Mike Seeger and other city-billies who were mining the Harry Smith Anthology for authentic sounds. Hazel was the real deal, right amongst them, and was soon working a circuit of music parties and county bars. That led to a long association with Alice Gerrard that culminated in a pair of albums for Rounder Records.

When the duo broke up, Hazel continued to record for Rounder as a solo artist, turning somewhat from the bluegrass sound she had cultivated with Gerrard and working more in a honky tonk vein. She also began to fold more political sensibility into her music, drawing on the hard lessons she had learned in the mining towns of West Virginia and the factories of Maryland. She began to play, as the title of one of her Rounder albums put it, Hard Hitting Songs For Hard Hit People.

There are some hard hitting songs on By The Sweat Of My Brow, and some tender ones too. Altogether, it's an impressive set of performances by one of the strongest and most authentic voices in country music. It's a valuable overview of an invaluable American asset.

Track List:

Beyond The River Bend * Only The Lonely * By The Sweat Of My Brow * Mama's Hand * Little Lenaldo * Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again? * Go Away With Me * Your Greedy Heart * Scars From An Old Love * The Ballad Of Ira Hayes * Old And In The Way * Here Today And Gone Tomorrow

© 2000 - Shaun Dale