Tom Breiding - The Unbroken Circle: Songs of the West Virginia Coalfields

There have been numerous collections released through the years of songs and recordings paying tribute to, and telling the stories of coal miners, their families, and their work. This collection features a couple of traditional songs about coal mining, but mostly Breiding did a great job writing his own collection.

The Traditional Songs

There are only two songs on this disc taken from the Appalachian coal mining songbook. "Red Haired Boy" is a terrific performance of the classic Irish fiddle tune. For it, he recruited members of the Short Crick Flatpickers (a local bluegrass band), and the performance is exquisite.

The other track not composed by Breiding is "The Singing Coal Miner," which is actually an archival recording from WSAZ-TV News in Huntington, WV. It's a nice little reminder that the stories told on this album actually happened to real people.

Breiding's Original Songs

Tom Breiding clearly has been very touched by the history of coal mining in West Virginia. This album doesn't just serve as a remarkable tribute to the history and labor issues through which that community has struggled. It also does an exquisite job of telling the people's history of the West Virginia coalfields.

Breiding has an excellent natural empathy and is able to tell these stories through the eyes of the miners without sounding at all forced. When he sings about the struggles of the miners, his voice embodies the range of emotions tied to the craft: frustration, exhaustion, fear, anger, dedication and submission.

Highlights and the Bottom Line

"My Father's Clothes" is a wonderful tune recounting the feeling of inheriting coal mining as a family business. "The Longest Darkest Day" tells a first-hand account of the story of the Buffalo Creek disaster, when the area flooded.

"The Bull Moose Special," one of the album's strongest songs, tells about a specific strike during which a miner was killed and Mother Jones helped to organize the miners. "Union Miner" is another highlight of the disc, announcing the dichotomous pride and frustration that comes with being a union miner.

Breiding is a fantastic songwriter, and an even more gifted performer. Despite the fact that he's singing more from the third-person, paying tribute to this history, there is nothing lost in the recounting of these stories. His lyrics are honest and empathic, and the instrumentation is outstanding. This is an excellent musical introduction to the plight of the Appalachian coal miner, and a wonderful addition to the coal mining songbook.