Doc Watson's United Artists Records catalog (long-since acquired by EMI) was tapped for two compilations in the fall of 2002, this two-fer combining his 1977 album
Lonesome Road and his 1978 album
Look Away!, licensed by Southern Music Distribution, and
Songs From Home on EMI's Capitol Records label. The flurry of activity can be traced to the success of the
O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, with its traditional country and bluegrass music. That's ironic, given that Watson's tenure at UA in the 1970s came due to the success of an earlier traditional country collection,
the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's
Will the Circle Be Unbroken album, on which he appeared. The record business is nothing if not trendy, but if that's what it takes to bring two albums as enjoyable as
Lonesome Road and
Look Away! back into print, so be it. Watson is, of course, joined by his son,
Merle Watson, on both releases, as well as by small bands that give the tracks a rocking punch. He essays a variety of country and folk standards, including
Mississippi John Hurt's "My Creole Belle" (the only track that overlaps with
Songs From Home) and
Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." The disc ends with two previously unreleased bonus tracks, "New Born King" and "Peace in the Valley," both of them gospel songs on which Watson is joined by an orchestra and choir. The tracks are not consistent with the feistier material from the original LPs, but they are warmly and sincerely performed and provide a reverent coda to an excellent collection.
