Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways

With 25 tracks from the FOLKWAYS archives this is the most generous helping of bluegrass music that one might
hope for. An incredible roller-coaster ride through the most diverse styles. If you aren't a fan of bluegrass music, just pick track 21, 'Billy in the Lowground' (an instrumental that clocks in at exactly o n e minute) and you'll see the light.
The sleeve notes, packaging and sound quality are superb, as you might expect from a record from the prestigious FOLKWAYS label. As a German, I must admit that in European folk music nothing that I know comes close to the sheer exuberant energy of bluegrass. It's the perfect antidote to the whole MTV catalogue with its 100 %predictability. Doc Watson's two tracks on this CD, 'The world is waiting for the sunrise' (track 11, together with the excellent Roger Sprung) and 'The train that carried my girl from town'(track 15) fill me with awe about the incredible wealth of material that this pivotal figure of American folk music...Read more

The plethora of worthy collections riding on the coattails of O Brother, Where Art Thou? continues with Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways, 25 tracks of serious bluegrass untarnished by rock, pop or other outside influences. Recorded between 1956 and 1992, it includes three numbers from what's purportedly the first bluegrass LP ever, Folkways' American Banjo: Three-Finger And Scruggs Style. Dashing mandolin runs by Earl Taylor (and his Stoney Mountain Boys) and bluegrass's patriarch Bill Monroe (with Peter Rowan) open and close this crisp disc while Ralph Stanley, singing with older brother Carter, offers clawhammer banjo picking.

Many of the performers - Red Allen, Doc Watson and Hazel Dickens, for example - grew up with the music. The Harley Allen-Mike Lilly Band (Harley being Red's son) shows how the genre's trademark tight harmonies can turn smooth (in an Osborne Brothers style) rather than sharp, without sacrificing the essence of true bluegrass. The New Lost...Read more

This anthology digs deep into the Smithsonian-Folkways catalog of bluegrass albums (1956-1992), with virtually each track representing a different group/performer. The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, The Country Gentlemen, Doc Watson, Snuffy Jenkins, and Red Allen are all included, and they are just the best-known artists here. Highlights for me include OUR LAST GOODBYE by the Johnson Mountain Boys, THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE DREADFUL SNAKE by The New Lost City Ramblers, TRAIN 45 by Smiley Hobbs, and HELLO CITY LIMITS by Hugh Moore, not to mention sides by the list of performers mentioned earlier. What's truly amazing is the realization that this CD anthology is only the tip of the iceberg of S-F holdings, which I believe are all still available in their original form - scores of albums. Hardcore bluegrass fans know all about those albums; CDs such as this do a great service for those just learning about the music or the S-F catalog, or for those just wanting to dip their toes into the...Read more