Comparisons are odious, but Blue Trail of Sorrow invites comparison to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack because it was designed, according to Rounder, as an “introductory primer” for new fans whose first knowledge of bluegrass music came with the film. This “primer” includes material from several Rounder bands and artists who appeared on the best-selling soundtrack. The inclusion of alternative interpretations of songs from the soundtrack seems a little insulting; it's almost as if Rounder is trying to beat bluegrass newbies over the head to get them to make the connection between this compilation and the film.

“Man Of Constant Sorrow,” delivered by banjo master Tony Furtado with the vocals of Tim O'Brien, is a fine rendering of the tune made popular by Dan Tyminski on the soundtrack. On this version, its intensity goes into overdrive near the end, when O'Brien's powerhouse vocal picks up the song and delivers it over the threshold. “When I Went Down In The Valley To Pray”, with the homespun a-cappella vocals of Dry Branch Fire Squad, is like rough unbleached muslin against the silky version heard (as “Down In The River To Pray”) in the film. And one of the soundtrack's most haunting tunes, Ralph Stanley's “O Death”, has its counterpart on this collection in “A Conversation With Death,” a melancholy composition penned and sung a-cappella by Lloyd Chandler himself. According to the liner notes, this song, complete with a between-verses throat clearing and the spoken coda, “How sad, how sad,” was taken from a 1974 anthology of field recordings. Frankly, I wish they'd left this one in the field.

Let's talk about what works best. Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, who won four International Bluegrass Music Association awards last October (including the coveted prize for Entertainer of the Year), contribute “You Don't Love God If You Don't Love Your Neighbor”. The crisp phrasing and tightly controlled meter of Vincent's energetic interpretation are augmented by terrific four-part harmonies and a simple bass-guitar accompaniment.

“Bringin' In The Georgia Mail” features killer dobro licks from Tut Taylor, and Norman Blake's stellar guitar. “Time Is Winding Up”, an old fire-and-brimstone blues spiritual, offers Marshall Wilborn's incredible basswork and a howling fiddle which dances like an anxious hellhound around the gaunt vocals of Ginny Hawkins and Carol Elizabeth Jones. I also enjoyed “Meet Me By The Moonlight,” a previously unreleased little gem from the Stanley Brothers, which features a great walking bass line, the plaintive vocals of Carter Stanley, and plenty of pops and hisses.

If you're homesick, “Hills of Home” from Hazel Dickens will make you cry. She's an extraordinary songwriter, and the rough, honest beauty of her voice will probably be lost on some listeners, though it's absolutely appropriate for this collection. Dickens might be bluegrass' answer to Bob Dylan.

Several offerings on Blue Trail Of Sorrow miss by a few yards, and others by a mile. The frenzied, unselfconscious joy of the instrumentation on “Cotton-Eyed Joe”, a ridiculous traditional tune delivered by the Freighthoppers with high-spirited fiddle and good-natured clawhammer banjo, is tainted by the caterwaul of vocalists Cary Fridley and Frank Lee, who yowl and screech after each chorus. In a live show, this might add to the fun, but on this recording, it's simply grating.

The collection's first offering, “I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers,” is a darkly wistful Stanley Brothers tune performed by supergroup Alison Krauss + Union Station. Dan Tyminski's voice is resonant and fine, and the instrumentation is flawless, but the absence of harmonies on this chorusless soliloquy makes for a pale opening. AK+US also contribute the title cut for the collection. Delivered by Tyminski, this time with harmony vocals from Krauss, it's a nice song, and Alison's break serves to remind us that she was known for her glorious fiddling before anybody ever heard her sing. However, the most significant thing about this perky modern tune, at least in terms of this compilation, is its name - which is the highest, most lonesome thing about it.

With slightly muddy lead vocals, “Owl Feather” from the late, great John Hartford, seems anachronistic for this collection: “I'm laying in this tanning bed, a-dreaming of my youth/The gangsta rap and the cowboy hat just make me feel uncouth...” The sweet voice of Alison Krauss is heard again on “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven”, where she shares lead vocal chores with Evelyn Cox. The harmonies are lovely, but the inclusion of drums will offend many bluegrass fundamentalists and confuse neophytes seeking acoustic purity. “Crazy Heart,” beautifully delivered by James King, adds to the disjointed character of the collection. It's a contemporary bluegrass song with a contemporary sound, but like the title cut, the Hartford tune, and the Cox/Krauss contribution, it seems out of place.

In spite of the confident assertion on the CD cover (“16 TOP BLUEGRASS GEMS”), purists will holler that not all of the tunes on this compilation are bluegrass. One tune has drums, only eight have banjo, and as purists love to preach, “You cannot have the bluegrass music without the five-string banjo.” However, the most unfortunate thing about the CD is not the occasional absence of banjoes or presence of drums. Considered individually, most of these songs are pleasant enough, but as a collection, this musical crazy quilt has a lot of holes.