The essential john denver rar12/8/2022 ![]() It wasn't always about progression and chops, as exhibited by the brilliant Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard on this 1973 record. Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard (1973) Hazel & Alice ( buy album) The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Nine Pound Hammer I won't deny its essential status but I haven't felt the magic from this one yet. It becomes more of an historical recording than a truly great record. That being said, I find the record is so packed with dialogue and asides that the flow of the album is somewhat hampered. You won't find this record excluded from any lists it contains a healthy meeting of the greats riffing with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band like it were a big family reunion. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1972) Will The Circle Be Unbroken ( buy album) John Hartford – With A Vamp In The Middle ![]() His music is an inexhaustible treasure trove of glorious (and humorous) bluegrass joy. Morning Bugle, Radio John, Mystery Below, Gum Tree, Mark Twang. This site has previously covered John, but you can't stop finding more. It edges on parody but delivers with real experience and heart. Heck, anybody who gives him a proper chance loves his music. Those somewhat skeptical of bluegrass will still love his music. For more KY Colonels, don't let the early-90s sleeve design of Long Journey Home deter you from investigation this '64 live set is a serious cooker. It's not just virtuosity, but a sexiness to his licks that separates him from the pack. Clarence White, country music's coolest guitar player, redefined the rules of what the guitar could do on this record. The Colonels could sing, but on this all-instrumental record they let Clarence take it. The Kentucky Colonels (1964) Appalachian Swing ( buy album)Īn absolute must for six-stringers. Must have been the hoppingest back porch in Salem, MO. The Dillards' 1963 debut proves their bluegrass blood runs red deep as they tear through some of the purest traditional bluegrass you can find. The Dillards are best known for their work as "The Darlings," a fictional group on the Andy Griffith Show that served to associate bluegrass with comedy in 'hillbilly' music, as well as their later work on the groundbreaking Wheatstraw Suite and Copperfields albums – early country rock staples with strong bluegrass elements. The Dillards (1963) Back Porch Bluegrass ( buy album) With 12 songs ranging in length from 1:50 to 2:28, I have never heard a tighter set. A big reverb sound with Earl leading the way on each tune, but marvelous contributions on dobro and fiddle throughout. ![]() To put it in context, there's two styles of banjo picking: clawhammer, and Scruggs style. They might consider reissuing this one with the full album repeated at half speed, as many a banjo picker sat analyzing Scruggs' revolutionary lightspeed picking on this LP by slowing it down on their reel-to-reels. The perfect voices harmonizing on this historic record are nothing short of magic and the record is quality through and through.įlatt & Scruggs (1961) Foggy Mountain Banjo ( buy album)Īn instrumental blueprint. Only the Gentlemen could turn a Manfred Mann tune into a bluegrass standard (Fox on the Run). The title of this album says it all about these boys, known for their ability to incorporate modern sounds in a traditional framework, a kind of gentle nod to progressive bluegrass. The Country Gentlemen (1959) Country Songs Old And New ( buy album) So here are the classic and utterly essential bluegrass LPs that I have found so far: Of course, you can't go wrong with The Music of Bill Monroe, The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers, or 1956-1968 by the Osborne Brothers, but what's an LP hound to do? If you're like me, you dig your music in that long player, album-length-statement kinda format. The discography of bluegrass music is chock full of collections, compilations, box sets, and best-of's. So, without further ado, take it away Brendan. Like me, Brendan is also a big fan of bluegrass music, and he's got a great record collection. If you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to get over there soon. The Rising Storm is a great place to discover lost gems in the genres of garage, country rock, psych folk, and psychedelic rock. Today we have a special guest appearance from Brendan of The Rising Storm, one of my favorite music blogs.
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