It's just occurred to me that Rounder Records have never produced an album that I didn't like.
I must have at least 30-40 of their albums in my collection. They are mostly Bluegrass and Blues.
I like their way of thinking. Rather than becoming the next EMI or Columbia, they are happy enough to be making a profit and producing quality albums that are musically and culturally appealing.
One of their stronger points in my mind is that they don't pressure their artists into producing crap that nobody wants to hear or to produce albums on demand under threat of lawsuits etc. They sign them on and release their albums as and when they are completed and they let the artist have control over the production and the artistic direction of the albums.
They produce some fine artists such as Claire Lynch, Alison Krauss, Natalie MacMaster, Norman Blake, Sleepy LaBeef, J D Crowe and the New South, Chris Ardoin, Hazel & Alice, Bela Fleck..... The list of fine roots musicians goes on and on.
It's rare that this happens but I've now gotten to point whereby if I see a CD in the local store that has been produced by Rounder Records, invariably if I can afford it I buy without thinking twice about listening to it. Such is my faith in Rounder.
I must have at least 30-40 of their albums in my collection. They are mostly Bluegrass and Blues.
I like their way of thinking. Rather than becoming the next EMI or Columbia, they are happy enough to be making a profit and producing quality albums that are musically and culturally appealing.
One of their stronger points in my mind is that they don't pressure their artists into producing crap that nobody wants to hear or to produce albums on demand under threat of lawsuits etc. They sign them on and release their albums as and when they are completed and they let the artist have control over the production and the artistic direction of the albums.
They produce some fine artists such as Claire Lynch, Alison Krauss, Natalie MacMaster, Norman Blake, Sleepy LaBeef, J D Crowe and the New South, Chris Ardoin, Hazel & Alice, Bela Fleck..... The list of fine roots musicians goes on and on.
It's rare that this happens but I've now gotten to point whereby if I see a CD in the local store that has been produced by Rounder Records, invariably if I can afford it I buy without thinking twice about listening to it. Such is my faith in Rounder.
