Live at the Cellar Door

 (15 customer reviews)

If you can accept urbanized bluegrass this is the ultimate CD. It's a long way from here to Ralph Stanley but the Seldom Scene impress with the quality of their music. This is a live album, but exceptionally well-recorded (especially since it was made about 1975). Every jack-hammer note of the banjo and painfully high pic of the mandolin comes through sharp, crisp, and clean. Although some may disagree, I enjoy the inane banter of the band and their weak attempts at humor. The SS even poke a little fun at the dead-serious bluegrass traditionalists.
The music is outstanding, especially the opening and closing numbers. The SS clown their way through "Doing my Time" but the harmonies and the instumental solos are of near unbeleivable qualtiy. And "Rider" a version of a Dead song, belongs among bluegrass's all time hits. Bob Dylan's "It's all over now, Baby Blue" is another standout. I guess I like the SS best when they're doing a 'grass version...Read more

Studio recordings never have the same energy as a live recording. So after four stellar albums, The Seldom Scene recorded their shows at the Cellar Door Dec. 27 and 28, before an appreciative hometown audience. The result is one of the finest albums of their storied career.

The band could have simply cherry picked highlights from their first four albums. Instead, over the course of 22 tracks and more than an hour of music, the audience is treated to no less than 18 songs previously not recorded by one of the best bluegrass bands of all time.

For the most part, the band keeps things fairly traditional--at least by Seldom Scene standards. The set opens with the classic "Doing My Time" and continues with songs by Bill Monroe (three in all), Carter Stanley, and Jimmie Martin. And while there is a hint of parody in their version of Martin's "Hit Parade of Love," it's obvious the sendup is done with affection for the material. Also, there are no fewer than four...Read more

One of their best. Traditional bluegrass with modern influences at its finest. Grateful Dead fans will absolutely love the version of Rider. This is from the original lineup of the 'Scene, with John Starling on vocals and guitar and Tom Gray on Bass.