KATHY MATTEA

Coal

2008-04-22

Country singer Mattea compiles some of the finest coal mining songs on this CD, bringing the joys and (mostly) sorrows of life in and around the mines to life (with plenty of them about death). The Sago, West Virginia mining disaster of 2006 compelled her to find the right set of songs to convey mining life and the best of them -- such as "The L&N Don't Stop Here No More" (#1), Coal Tattoo (#6) and "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" (#8) -- both educate and entertain. The closer, "Black Lung," is a harrowing a capella number, combined with an instrumental, "Coal." This set may not burn up the spins chart, but is a valuable contribution to the YCE library. 4/08 MJVD F-Traditional

Quick Links:

More reviews tagged #Folk

  • reviewed 09/2010

    KELLI SCARR
    Piece

  • reviewed 09/2007

    KIERAN KANE, KEVIN WELCH AND FATS KAPLIN
    Kane Welch Kaplin

  • reviewed 11/2009

    AMANDA SHIRES
    West Cross Timbers

  • reviewed 08/2006

    The Mountain Goats
    Get Lonely

  • reviewed 03/2008

    Lvnmuziq
    Contemplating the Void

  • reviewed 06/2006

    JEN CHAPIN
    Ready

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.