| Public Domain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 15, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | April 2000 at My Place or Yours Studio, Glendale, California | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 1:01:15 | |||
| Label | HighTone | |||
| Producer | Dave Alvin | |||
| Dave Alvin chronology | ||||
| ||||
Public Domain (subtitled Songs from the Wild Land) is an album by American artist Dave Alvin, released in 2000.
In an interview with No Depression , Alvin stated that during the time of his father's terminal illness, he would go hiking in the mountains and would sing folk songs. "That gave me the idea for the Public Domain record. It finally dawned on me that those folk songs are poor people's therapy... The reason they got into the public domain was they touched a nerve. You're thrown into this world where bad things happen—tragic death and economic injustice—so how do you deal with it? Well, one way of dealing with it is in these songs. It's a way of explaining the world." [1]
"The Murder of the Lawson Family" was recorded by The Stanley Brothers in March 1956. It is based on the mass murder of his family by Charlie Lawson.
At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards the album won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau | C+ [3] |
AllMusic critic Denise Sullivan wrote: "This is the work of a scholar as well as a master craftsman." [2] Robert Christgau wrote: "If Harry Smith is what some people love about folk music, this is what other people hate about it, summed up by a title that claims humility as it sneaks presumption in the stage door—a title worthy of a brilliant record and dishonored by this dull one... It's not that these songs are all obvious or overdone—this nonfolkie had never heard a few of them. It's that they're so soft they squish even when Alvin tries to rev one past you, which usually he doesn't." [3]
All songs traditional unless otherwise noted.
David Albert Alvin is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s and has been involved in various side projects and collaborations. He has had brief stints as a member of the bands X and the Knitters.
Dreamland is the seventh solo studio album by English musician Robert Plant. It was released on July 16, 2002. It is a mixture of blues rock, folk rock, hard rock, and psychedelic rock.
"That's the Way" is a folk rock ballad by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, released in 1970. As with several of the tracks on the album, it is an acoustic song.
Roses in the Snow is the seventh studio album by country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1980. While Harris' previous release, 1979's Blue Kentucky Girl, featured traditional, straight-ahead country, Roses in the Snow found Harris performing bluegrass-inspired music, with material by Flatt and Scruggs, Paul Simon, The Carter Family, and Johnny Cash. Cash, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, The Whites, Ricky Skaggs, Willie Nelson and Tony Rice made guest appearances. "Wayfaring Stranger" was released as the first single in 1980 and went to #7 on the Billboard Country charts. The second single, a remake of a Simon & Garfunkel song, "The Boxer", reached #13. Backing musicians included Albert Lee and Jerry Douglas.
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions is the fourteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen. Released in 2006, it peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Picnic is an album by the Texas-based folk singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen, released in 1997. It was his first album for Arista Records. The album is dedicated to Townes Van Zandt.
Doyle Wayne Lawson is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
Fair & Square is the 15th studio album by American folk singer-songwriter John Prine, released on Oh Boy Records in 2005. It was rereleased in 2007 as a vinyl double-LP with four more bonus tracks, and in 2008 those four tracks were rereleased as an EP.
Leave the Light On is an album by American singer/songwriter Chris Smither, released in 2006. It was released on Mighty Albert, a new imprint established for him on Signature. Guest musicians on the record include Grammy Award-winner Tim O’Brien and members of Ollabelle.
The Long Ride is an album by the American folk musician Ramblin' Jack Elliott, released in 1999. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Traditional Folk Album" category.
Too Stuffed to Jump is an album by the Amazing Rhythm Aces, released in 1976.
Flying Saucer Blues is the seventh album by the American singer-songwriter Peter Case, released in 2000.
Sings Like Hell is an album by American singer-songwriter Peter Case, released in 1993. In 1996 the album title gave rise to a monthly music series, Sings Like Hell, staged at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, California.
King of California is an album by the American musician Dave Alvin, released in 1994.
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women is an album by American artist Dave Alvin, released in 2009. It reached number 35 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
Museum of Heart is an album by the American musician Dave Alvin, released in 1993. Alvin considered the album to be mainly in the soul blues style. He promoted Museum of Heart by touring with his band, the Guilty Men.
Out in California is a live album by American artist Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, released in 2002. It was recorded live in August 2001 in Santa Barbara and in January 2002 in Pasadena, California.
Blue Blvd is an album by American musician Dave Alvin. It was released in 1991.
Blackjack David is the sixth album by the American artist Dave Alvin, released in 1998.
MacDougal Blues is the debut solo album from Drivin N Cryin vocalist Kevn Kinney, released on Island Records in 1990. The album received positive reviews.