Reviews of
Ways That Are Dark


Click on the title to see the full review



Daniel Gore: Ways That Are Dark/Elephant Rock CD 111531/ Bluegrass Unlimited/ Murphy Henry/ January 1999
"The songs are extremely well-crafted, and Gore chose some of the best team players in the business to bring these songs to life. As a songwriter, his use of a chorus is brilliant (and bluegrassy).   Craig Smith provides a tasteful tour de force in how to play the melody of a song Scruggs style. Peter Rowan is in his element"



An Interview with Daniel Gore/Bluegrass Canada Magazine/George McKnight/May 2000
"How anyone can take a book (Our Southern Highlanders) of stories and tales almost 100 years old and be inspired to write music and song with such accuracy defies understanding."



Daniel Gore: Ways That Are Dark CD/ Victory Music Review/ Richard Middleton/ July 1998
"This CD is a unique and fortuitous blend of American folk history, excellent songwriting, and fantastic musicianship."



High Lonesome/ The News & Observer Raleigh, North Carolina/ David Menconi/ July 19, 1998
"The music on ‘Ways That Are Dark’ is first-rate bluegrass, thanks to a tremendous cast of musicians including Peter Rowan, Tim O’Brien, former Red Clay Rambler Jim Watson, and Doc Watson sideman, Jack Lawrence."



Daniel Gore: Ways That Are Dark/ Crossroads/ Jonathan Colcord/ December 1998
"Gore authored all of the songs on the CD but he seems to have ingeniously crafted each one for the performers involved. The flow is a great mixture of Monroe-style bluegrass and some Scotch-Irish inspired folk music. Gore truly knew what he was doing on this project and even took back seat to performers he lined up, himself playing on only a few pieces. Just go get it and devour it."



Daniel Gore: Mountain Music, By The Book/ No Depression/ David Menconi/ September-October 1998
"It’s a remarkable piece of bluegrass scholarship that sounds a lot like Cold Mountain feels. Look up the acknowledgments page in the book Cold Mountain and you’ll find Kephart’s seminal 1913 book ‘Our Southern Highlanders’ credited as one of the dozen or so sources for the novel’s historical background."



Appalachian Vignettes/ The News & Observer Raleigh, North Carolina/ Jack Bernhardt/ September 20, ‘98
"The album sounds as if it could have been produced from the field tapes made by early folk song collector Cecil Sharp. This fine project pays tribute to the man whose love for the mountains and its hardy, colorful folk led to the establishment of the Smoky Mountains National Park. Kephart would certainly approve."



The Bluegrass List Posting/ Jaanus Vainu 6/30/98/ RATING 5 (of 5) Exact rating 4.9 (of 5.0)
"One side is that the songs written are so professional ones that you may think that they are already old classics. But the equally impressive side is the accompanying 16-page booklet. And those photos on background! They are deserved own story here -- they are mostly from Horace Kephart's original book, but many are from archives, never published before. This is a project which deserves much attention from every bluegrass fan and also can be interesting for every folk music lover and also for those being interested in history."