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Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will The Circle Be Unbroken Gets Vinyl Reissue

A 40th anniversary vinyl reissue of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s iconic 1972 album Will The Circle Be Unbroken will be released on February 26. The remastering of the seminal Americana record has been overseen by the band, and the reissue will include new liner notes, an essay by the Dirt Band’s John McEuen and an exclusive poster. Will The Circle Be Unbroken features a stellar assortment of guest appearances from legendary bluegrass, folk and blues musicians including Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis and Jimmy Martin, as well as compositions by Acuff, Scruggs, Travis, Martin, Hank Williams and Joni Mitchell. The tracklist for the 3LP 180-gram vinyl reissue can be viewed below.

Recorded live over six consecutive days at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, Will the Circle be Unbroken is a historic feat of studio collaboration, bringing together accomplished country songwriters and musicians from two generations for a cohesive album that is both steeped in tradition and pioneering in its form. The album helped usher in the new Americana style and remains a major influence to this day. In 2005, the album was selected for the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, joining a group of essential American recordings which “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.”

Will The Circle Be Unbroken tracklist

LP 1 – Side 1
1.         Grand Ole Opry Song
2.         Keep On The Sunny Side
3.         Nashville Blues
4.         You Are My Flower
5.         The Precious Jewel
6.         Dark As A Dungeon
LP 1 – Side 2
1.         Tennessee Stud
2.         Black Mountain Rag
3.         Wreck On The Highway
4.         The End Of The World
5.         I Saw The Light
LP 2 – Side 3
1.         Sunny Side Of The Mountain
2.         Nine Pound Hammer
3.         Losin’ You (Might Be The Best Thing Yet)
4.         Honky Tonkin’
5.         You Don’t Know My Mind
6.         My Walkin’ Shoes
LP 2 – Side 4
1.         Lonesome Fiddle Blues
2.         Cannonball Rag
3.         Avalanche
4.         Flint Hill Special
5.         Togary Mountain
6.         Earl’s Breakdown
7.         Orange Blossom Special
8.         Wabash Cannonball
LP 3 – Side 5
1.         Lost Highway
1a.       Doc Watson & Merle Travis: First Meeting (Dialogue)
2.         Way Downtown
3.         Down Yonder
4.         Pins And Needles (In My Heart)
5.         Honky Tonk Blues
6.         Sailin’ On To Hawaii
LP 3 – Side 6
1.         I’m Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes
2.         I Am A Pilgrim
3.         Wildwood Flower
4.         Soldier’s Joy
5.         Will the Circle be Unbroken
6.         Both Sides Now

Courtest of (Jambands.com)

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Comment by Easy Ed on January 24, 2013 at 3:32pm: Working for United Artists when this originally came out (UALA-9801), I can tell you that this was the number one defective package we ever sold. The albums were usually warped due to the challenge of packaging three together. Let us hope that someone is old enough to remember what a nightmare that was and gets it right on this iteration. Oh yeah...one of the best albums of all time.

Comment by Craig Young on January 24, 2013 at 8:26pm: One can only hope!

Comment by TenLayers on February 2, 2013 at 12:45pm: One failing in my life was not giving it's recognition it was due when it first came out. To somewhat quote and butcher the Rolling Stone review on The Basement Tapes"......"There's a white hot center there, I know there is, but I can't access it"

Now I can.