Ken Burns developed this project over three years and you could tell he painstakingly tried to include every aspect of country music history.
The result was both educational and entertaining. It involved musical content and a strong personal component, most of which was physical and mental hardships of the talent.
I don't know how many stars were profiled but there were pretty much everybody you can think of with Cash, Haggard, Parton, getting the most focus.
Agreed.
I first discovered Ken Burns about five years ago when I watched Prohibition and I have since gone on to watch several other films of his. Country Music is the first that I actually got to start when it premiered and followed along every night, making sure to be on the couch and ready to go when it aired. It was a great journey, one that I'm actually a little sad is now over.
I never have been a huge fan of country, but I still found this doc very compelling and engrossing. And it has inspired me to go out and explore the genre more.
Ken Burns is such a great filmmaker. A legend.
I've been watching it; just finished episode five today. Almost unbelievable the extreme poverty that most of the artists came from. Also interesting is the enduring popularity of those who, due to tragic, early death, had short careers. It really leaves you wondering and mourning what might have been.
shareEven as a country music fan already, I learned a lot. I already knew a lot about Hank and Johnny and Willie, but it was great to fill in some of the details.
I didn't know who Jimmie Rodgers was, but I remember now that my grandfather had his records when I was a kid.
I had no idea the Carter family was so important to the history of country music, or that June Carter's mother Mabel was such a great guitarist.
I always liked Chet Atkins' guitar playing, but never knew he had toured with the Carters or that he was a longtime Nashville producer too.
I thought Kris Kristofferson was just an actor, not a great songwriter.
The best part of the series was Marty Stuart, his commentary and mandolin pickin', and how he tied in to so much of the history over time.
Kind of odd how they glossed over big stars like Kenny Rogers and Alan Jackson (and skipped over Don Williams and Lynn Anderson), but the show had a great narrative thread from the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in the 1920s up to the early 90's.
Except for the obvious agenda.
shareI liked it but I thought it lost its way towards the end.
It's a difficult task to capture everything and craft the story in a compelling way -- but there were some odd choices and omissions as it limped towards the finish. The first few episodes are the best.