John Cohen has taken the leftover footage from "The High Lonesome Sound" and made a second film about Roscoe Holcomb, entitled, "Roscoe Holcomb From Daisy, Kentucky". The film had a limited release last year (it showed at the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival at the American Museum of Natural History in New York last November), and now Shanachie has released both movies on a DVD entitled, "The Legacy of Roscoe Holcomb" (Shanachie 621).

(This is so new that I can't find it on the Shanachie web site!)

(Thanks to NPR's Picture Show blog for the tip in an article about John Cohen, which says, "Also out are John Cohen, Past, Present, Peru: A Collection of CDs, DVDs, Photos and Text and a new book about The New Lost City Ramblers.")

Among other vendors, it's available from County Sales, who have this product description:

LEGACY OF ROSCOE HOLCOMB This is simply a wonderful package that combines the various video appearances of this amazing old time musician from Eastern Kentucky. It's hard to believe that it's been almost 50 years since John Cohen made his classic documentary film HIGH LONESOME SOUND. That landmark work has been combined with a new piece by Cohen taken from out takes and leftover segments from his 1962 film. In addition, there are another ten tunes recorded in different places over the years, a fitting tribute to Holcomb, who died in 1981 at the age of 70. At first hearing, Holcomb's high, piercing voice may scare the new listener, but those who are ready for something real and truly rural should love this video. Shot in black & white, Cohen's glimpses of the coalfields, the farms and the mountain people are spellbinding—at times the viewer is transported to a time and place that might just as well be 100 years ago. Though Holcomb's main weapon is his voice, he can play some deft old time banjo, such as the spellbinding HOOK & LINE, LITTLE BIRDIE, and LITTLE GREY MULE. He also plays some bluesy guitar (GRAVEYARD BLUES). Cohen and Shanachie Records were fortunately able to borrow additional songs cut from the Pete Seeger TV show (1966), Alan Lomax (1961), George Pickow, and John Ullman of Seattle (1972). Apart from Roscoe's playing, singing and comments on life in the mountains, this DVD also contains some unique segments that will fascinate the viewer: on one visit to Kentucky Cohen happened to catch and film part of a Bill Monroe appearance on the Courthouse steps of Hazard, Ky.—Bill and the Bluegrass Boys play LIVE & LET LIVE here. Then there's a surprise appearance of the superb Kentucky fiddler Marion Sumner playing a fine GREY EAGLE for a square dance, along with an equally great RED APPLE RAG (with Holcomb and another picker supplying guitar backing). There is also an emotion charged country baptizing. We can thank John Cohen and the others involved with preserving sights and sounds of this unique individual, and doing it so well.

TRACK LISTING

    * HOOK AND LINE
    * PRETTY FAIR MISS IN THE GARDEN
    * SINGLE GIRL
    * OLD SMOKY
    * LITTLE BIRDY
    * GRAVEYARD BLUES
    * LITTLE GREY MULE
    * ROCKY MOUNTAIN
    * GREY EAGLE
    * RED APPLE RAG

AP review in the next post.

~ Becky in Tucson