#354: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will the Circle be Unbroken (1972)

Zack: When I went to listen to this album and saw how long it was, I’m pretty sure I made a noise like I was a victim in a Saw movie. It’s no secret that the country music we’ve listened to has been hit-or-miss with me. And while my palette has expanded in recent years so that there are more hits than there used to be, there are still a fuck ton of misses. So a double album of country seemed to provide twice as many reasons to fear. After listening to the first half, though, I started to calm down. It wasn’t all bad. In fact, in many places, it was all good. I kind of liked that they were trying to bang everything out in only one take. It all felt so natural. Like I was sitting on a porch drinking wine from a jug while people cavorted around me. Some of the songs I even knew! But then disc 2 started. And all of a sudden I was submerged in a sea of fiddling. And that sea was quite tumultuous. Even though I was sitting in a crappy chair at the FEC coding fundraising data, what was going into my ears was the most uncomfortable part of my day. Eventually, things turned around somewhat. But I was struck by a lesson I really feel more artists should have learned by now: If you think you have enough material for a double album, shut up no you don’t. They could have easily pared this down to a single, 1-hour disc and I would have loved it. But Will the Circle be Unbroken had to push their luck on that double album, and they lost me there.

Favorite Tracks: Nashville Blues; Dark as a Dungeon; Black Mountain Rag

Emily: Will the Circle be Unbroken clocks in at about 105 minutes, nearly two hours of Nashville country music. Listening to it took me five separate walks throughout D.C. - from my house to work, from work to the gym, from the gym to my house, and again from my house to work and work to my house. That's a lot of steps logged for one measly album. And on every leg of the journey, I wanted to be listening to something else. Heard some Kanye West in spin class? Should've listened to Yeezus on the way home. Saw a clip about the Bad Blood video on Instagram? Should've put on T. Swift while walking to work. These are actual thoughts I had over the past two days, but each time I kept on plugging through the fiddles, twang, and lonely hearts of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. And when I stepped into my apartment this evening, the last few bars of the thirty-eighth track playing through my headphones, I breathed a sigh of relief. The unending Circle of country music was finally (Un)broken.

Favorite Tracks: I'm Thinkin' Tonight of My Blue Eyes; Nine Pound Hammer; Tennessee Stud