Tim O'Brien recording

[Walter]

Can anyone suggest specific CD of Tim O'Brien's. I've enjoyed some of his music and I want to make a good selection. thanks

[BluegrassPhilfromFrance]

First of all, I have to warn you ... I am a "HUGE" Tim O'Brien fan (let's say admirateur !) Besides the fact that each of his records is great, here is my personnal selection :
Real Time (with Darrell Scott)
Rock in my shoe
The Crossing
Traveler
Red on Blonde (Bob Dylan covers)
Away out on the mountain (with his sister Mollie)

and of course ... all the HOT RIZE records. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[MDW]

I've got a number Tim O'Brien recordings. My favorite by far is "Songs from the Mountain." A close second is Real Time with Darrell Scott.

[mzbanjo]

You can't go wrong with Tim, but it depends on what you're in the mood for...
Celtic/Folk: The Crossing
Folk/Bluegrass: Traveler or Real Time with Darell Scott
Bluegrass: Hot Rize-So Long of a Journey

There's my opinion.
matt

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

Tim is my favorite singer in the bgrass/americana genre. Each of his albums is great-but for different things. Some bgrass, some electric, some folky. Depends on what style of music you like

Away out on a mountain by Tim and Molly is killer-duet harmonies are breathtaking and the non-bluegrass song selection is awesome-this one never gets old. to me its the kind of album that for the first six months one song is your favorite, then another is and finally, 4 years later you still listen to it but you've gone through 8 favorite songs
Red on Blonde is great and covers only Dylan Tunes.
The new one, traveler, is mostly his original stuff and is excellent-still not bgrass
My fave of his bgrass albums is Hotrize untold stories(a classic album)

l haven't listened to his celtic stuff like crossing but i'm sure its great too.

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

oh yeah, and Real time is the most raw, energizing, inspired duet recording I've probably ever heard. Those two guys play with so much soul on that album, and they don't try and get it perfect, notes are off, time isn't perfect-but it breathes and rocks and pulls you in. That album changed how i feel about my music. I got into mando from the grisman quintet-lots of chords, tight rhythm, perfect playing and when I heard that album and saw how those two guys could make you feel -it just changed me

[AlanN]

And his early stuff is good, too. Hard Year Blues and the tough-to-find Guess Who's In Town, has the first recorded version of 99 Years (and 1 Dark Day).

[Fretbear]

"Traditional Ties", a later recording of Hot Rize has some of the finest modern age/old time bluegrass ever recorded. One of my favourite solo albums is "Red on Blonde". The only solo he ever did that I wasn't crazy about was "Oh Boy, Oh Boy" which was a little too much "old tymey" for my personal taste. You can't go wrong buying anything he has ever recorded. He has a good website where you can buy them all: #www.timobrien.net

[BluegrassPhilfromFrance]

Atlanta Mando Mike,

I have to agree 200 % because I'm feeling exactly the same and your musical trip is exactly the same as me, too bad I'm living in France,we could have made a good duo and record Real Time 2 (eh, eh, eh !). Always good to find someone sharing his own feelings # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Dagger Gordon]

I'm maybe a bit unusual in that I've never heard Hot Rize or Tim's work with Mollie.

I started on Tim with Red on Blonde, which is quite brilliant, and definitely got me hooked.

His albums tend to be themed, thus you get his Dylan album (Red on blonde), Celtic explorations (Crossing, 2 Journeys), singer songwriter/ country (When no one's around) etc.

Tim mostly plays guitar and sings on Songs from the mountain, so if you're after his mando playing, that's not the best choice (but it's a great album).

Also The Crossing is not altogether a Celtic album. It's more an exploration of the links between America and Ireland, with songs that are often to do with how Irish people fared in the US. You get Earl Scruggs playing with Irish fiddler Frankie Gavin, some Kelly Joe Phelps, etc. An exceptional piece of work in my view.

I don't think of Tim as a bluegrass musician really. He's far too wide-ranging. Labels! Americana, folk? I suppose if you want his bluegrass stuff, Hot Rize would be best, but as I say, I've never heard it.

I note that Real Time is coming over as one of the strongest recommendations. Strangely, that's actually not one of my favourites. Just shows we're all different I guess.

I think you'd like any of his albums. His music's pretty addictive.

[Christopher Howard-Williams]

Well Walter, now what do you do?
And there's still one more that I don't think has been mentioned which is my favourite : Odd Man In.
Good songs, nice arrangements and Tim's just the best - a great guy too.

[GBG]

Since this topic was posted in the Bluegrass section, I would recommend the Hot Rize CD's in this order/priority: TRADITIONAL TIES, UNTOLD STORIES, and TAKE IT HOME. At one time this was the hottest BG band going.

[mandopete]

Funny this should come up - I was just thinking about all of the cool recordings Tim O'Brien has done with other people. #Here are a few of my favorites:

Icewater - from Scott Nygaard's recording Dreamers Waltz
Man Of Constant Sorrow - from Tony Furtado's recording Full Circle
Highway Of Sorrow - from Todd Phillip's recording True Life Blues

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

Well I fell in love with a millionaires daughter, and the people in hell all want icewater. Good one

I really like Everybodies Talking from Alison Brown's Album-Fairweather

[BluegrassPhilfromFrance]

Have you heard the astounding version of "Gentle on my mind" by Tim & Kathy Mathea on John Hartford Tribute Album ? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Walter]

Wow. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm off to place an order...

[mandopete]

Well I fell in love with a millionaires daughter, and the people in hell all want icewater. #Good one
Now me and the millionaire's daughter are livin' in a shack
And every night she dreams about going back

I love that tune!

[mandorado]

Just a suggestion ... have you looked at Bluegrassbox.com (http://www.bluegrassbox.com)? Their ftp download site is LOADED with free, live Tim O'Brien shows, and a bunch of Hot Rise recordings too.
It's a great place to get some free music.
And just because I like Tim O ... you should support artists by buying CD's too!

[BluegrassPhilfromFrance]

Hi Mandorado,
Thank you so much for the info, I didn't know such a site existed. Now I need to have a good friend (a banjo player, isn't that strange ?) to help me understanding how to download some concerts since I've never done that. Thanks again. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[mandorado]

Phil ... no prob bro. Are you on a Mac or PC?
I can always find a good free/demo ftp (file transfer protacal) app at Versiontracker.com (http://versiointracker.com), you can too. They have downloads for both PC/Mac and it's pretty easy to find one.
Once you have the ftp application installed ... use your web browser, go to bluegrass box and sign up for a download account ... also very easy. They will send you an email with your log and pass. Use the ftp application to connect and download away.
There are more threads here in the mandolincafe with instructions on how to connect and all kinds of tips. Just do a search for bluegrassbox.
If you need any further help ... just ask.
Hope the weather in France is as great as it is here in Colorado today! I haven't been over there for many, many years, but it's a great place. (I'm a climber and have climbed in Chamonix, the Calanques and some other areas I'm sure you have heard of.) I would love to come back over and visit sometime soon.

[BluegrassPhilfromFrance]

Great to hear that ! I was in the Calanques around Cassis about 2 months ago (my father lives in Marseille) and we took a 4 hours walk, it was great. Never climbed Chamonix but been there very often for my work (I'm a burgundy wine merchant !). Thanks for the tips you gave me. I'm on windows XP and I'll work that out soon. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif