Late As Usual

 (3 customer reviews)

Sam Bush, multi-instrumentalist and master of all, produces not only impressively arranged notes on the clef, but also serious feelings in the soul. From the wild "chopping and banging" of "Sailin' Shoes", to the sorrowful "Last Letter Home". With a number of brow-level buddies from past acoustic associations, Sam reaches an astounding level of musical variety, complexity, and maintains "great taste" through it all. An absolute MUST HEAR!

I first bought this album on vinyl in 1984. It's also one of my favorite bluegrass/newgrass albums. Sam Bush had been pushing the boundaries of bluegrass since the inception of his band New Grass Revival, and several members of that band perform on this album, including Curtis Burch, John Cowan, Pat Flynn, Courtney Johnson and Bela Fleck.

All but two of these tracks are instrumentals. One of the vocals is the touching "Last Letter Home," which features Norman and Nancy Blake (who perform on several tracks); the other is a funky version of Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes." The instrumentals include traditional tunes like Bill Monroe's "Big Mon" with Bush on fiddle backed by Johnson on banjo "Leather Britches" with Bush trading licks with Norman Blake on mandolin and guitar respectively.

There are also newgrass tracks like the originals "Crooked Smile" and "Funk 55," the album's two longest tracks at 6:42 and 4:24. Perhaps the highlight is hearing Bush square off...Read more

This is pretty much what you would expect from Sam , GREAT. It's bluegrass , ragtime ,funk , country, soul , and R&B. I love it. I wish I bought it 20 years ago.