Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(17 customer reviews) 15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A tasteful tune set with several interpretive twists,
December 24, 2006 J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Instrumentals (Audio CD)
Playing Time - 47:32 -- I assumed that all eleven of these instrumentals were written by Ricky Skaggs because liner notes didn't provide tune credits. A little info from the label's publicist indicated that nine are new compositions by multiple Grammy award-winner Skaggs. Also, the CD jacket for this band's first-ever all-instrumental project has the entire seven-piece band on the cover, but a few of the regular members appear to be missing in the musical mix. Bios for Darrin Vincent and Paul Brewster are provided, but I don't see them listed in the credits. We do hear Ricky Skaggs (guitar, clawhammer banjo, mandolin, percussion), Jim Mills (banjo), Cody Kilby (guitar), Andy Leftwich (fiddle) and Mark Fain (bass). Guests include Jeff Taylor (accordion, whistle), Andy Statman (clarinet), and the Nashville String Machine with orchestration by Jim Gray on one cut.
No one can doubt the astonishing fluency with which these string practitioners speak. While they have a strong...Read more
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Great Instrumentals,
August 19, 2006 H. Silver (Park Forest, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Instrumentals (Audio CD)
As one who thought Ricky Skaggs's "Brand New Strings" was a bit too mellow and lacked the usual bluegrass drive, I was pleased to hear the hard edge was back in this instrumental album. Although the instrumentation and feel is definitely bluegrass, it has a nice variety of tunes (major keys, minor keys, Appalachian, Celtic). A few of the tunes include non-bluegrass instruments, such as an accordian and/or a clarinet. In my opinion, it worked well, but I can see where a purist might find it disconcerting.
Two of the tunes ("Going to Ceili" and "Crossville") are also on the "Live at the Charleston Music Hall" album. I would have preferred either all new tunes, or make it a mega-album of all his instrumentals, including "Get Up, John," "Rawhide," "Amanda Jewell," and so on.
Definitely a great album for bluegrass fans.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
pretty good overall,
August 12, 2006 James (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Instrumentals (Audio CD)
Finally, an all instrumental album from one of the hottest bands in bluegrass! After seeing them recently in concert I couldn't wait to get my hands on this recording. It did not disappoint, for the most part. The picking is phenomenal all across the board, with taste and musicality taking presidence over pure hot licks. However, some of the tunes really just don't do it for me. They feel kinda dry. That being said there sure are some golden moments. Jeff Taylor has some great accordion solos that surpass his work on the Charleson live cd. The star of this recording, in my opinion, is Cody Kilby. I've never heard such a full, driving, clean sound like that. There is something about the way this guy plays that just makes the group sound fuller and drive more when he solos. Its an instant change. Favorite cuts: "Crossville" "Goin to the Ceili" " "Wayward to Hayward" and "Polk City".
