Bluegrass & Old Time Music

[Gurn Blanston]

Hey, Dave!

I have very little by Lester & Earl, mostly this, which is a different release of the same disk you have, I believe:



I have the Stanley Brothers Mercury set, and just got this Columbia set:



I don't have any Bill Monroe though, which is a travesty. The one you and OSA have featured is OOP, so decent copies are expensive, but I'll just shop around for it and I know a copy will show up. Anyway, I don't want to just buy a whole library all at once, so gradually picking up what is available is the way to go. BTW, if you don't already have this one, you might really like it. Some great players on here...

[Old San Antone]

Hi Guys - thanks for posting - allows me to check my BG collection to see what I have or am missing -   

Bill Monroe - have quite a bit including the 3 below.  Stanley Brothers - have just the one disc (but a good one from the Bear Family), but own about 3 CDs of Ralph in later years (and the soundtrack from the '....Brother...' movie).  As to Flatt & Scruggs, the two below (second is a 2-CD set).

Over the decades, I probably saw Bill Monroe live a half dozen times (he used to come to a yearly downtown festival sponsored by our corporate 'giants' at the time, now gone!), and at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.  Of course, Earl Scruggs was born in NC near Shelby, about 90 mins from us.  And have seen Doc Watson a half dozen times, and his son Merle on several events w/ his father - he as from Deep Gap near Boone, an exit we pass each time we get on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Blowing Rock.  Dave

   

   

Hi Dave - great stuff.  I've those three Monroe CDs you pictured, and the Flatt & Scruggs compilations look really good, but I discovered that I have them covered in a nice 4CD set, which I actually forgot I owned until you posted the others.  I have spent so much time streaming and hardly ever go look at my shelves, I kind of feel like I'm missing out on some stuff that I ought to listen to that I have in hard copy.   



I've been reading a book on the North Carolina music scene, and just finished the chapter on Earl Scruggs, what a story.  If you don't already know about it, this book might be something you'd enjoy.

[asin]1540207773[/asin]

[Old San Antone]

I am going to post this here, but it could also go in the Acoustic Blues thread (and I will cross-post it there) since this generous compilation from Columbia contains many old time selections as well as erly blues.  These vernacular styles both developed during the period the box set covers, but I think without doing a numerical count, that there are more old time songs than blues.

Roots 'n' Blues: Retrospective 1925-1950



This might be seen as an expansion of the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music that came out in 1952 and influenced an entire generation that went on to create the folk/blues revival during the '50s and '60s.

[SonicMan46]

Hey, Dave!

I have very little by Lester & Earl, mostly this, which is a different release of the same disk you have, I believe:



I have the Stanley Brothers Mercury set, and just got this Columbia set:



I don't have any Bill Monroe though, which is a travesty. The one you and OSA have featured is OOP, so decent copies are expensive, but I'll just shop around for it and I know a copy will show up. Anyway, I don't want to just buy a whole library all at once, so gradually picking up what is available is the way to go. BTW, if you don't already have this one, you might really like it. Some great players on here...

Hi Gurn - yep, you certainly need some recordings of Monroe w/ Flatt & Scruggs in his band in the late '40s - just seminal bluegrass at its start w/ Earl astonishing on the banjo - the J.D. Crowe album w/ a young Skaggs & Rice (and Jerry Douglas - love the Dobro!) was an early addition to my BG collection years ago - Crowe continued on - I added the 2 CDs below but just looking on Amazon, he has others.  Dave

   

[Old San Antone]

Rayna Gellert - old time fiddler

Rayna Gellert (born December 15, 1975) is an American violinist and singer specializing in old-time music. She grew up in Elkhart, in northern Indiana. Her father is the traditional fiddler and banjo player Dan Gellert. Originally a classically trained violinist, she took up the old-time fiddle in 1994, when she moved to North Carolina to attend Warren Wilson College. She received a bachelor's degree from Warren Wilson College.  Gellert is a former member of the Freight Hoppers. From 2003 to 2009 she performed and recorded with the all-female old-time band Uncle Earl. In 2003, she was a featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Rayna has been touring and recording with Kieran Kane, a songwriter, who had a successful run in Nashville back in the '80s.  He was a memeber of the popular due The O'Kanes with fellow Nashville songwriter Jamie O'Hara.  Active between 1986 and 1990, the duo recorded three albums for Columbia Records and charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including the Number One "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You". Kane charted seven singles of his own in the early 1980s, and O'Hara won a Grammy Award for co-writing "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)", a Number One hit for The Judds. After they disbanded in 1990, both members pursued solo careers, and Kane founded a record label called Dead Reckoning Records. (Wikipedia)

I am willing to bet that Kane became turned off with the Country music environment, what with its just about outlawing steel guitars, fiddles and banjos from the records they churned out. 

However the music he makes with Rayna Gellert is pretty fantastic.



Rayna Gellert has put out several albums herself of old time fiddling, as well as two with Kieran Kane.



Workin's Too Hard, her latest collection of original and traditional songs, carries that promise forward, along a tradition now of her own devising, and demonstrates how deep immersion in our musical past can point the way toward the future of American music. She developed the album in collaboration with co-producer Kieran Kane, multi-instrumentalist Kai Welch (Abigail Washburn, Bobby Bare Jr.), and drummer Jamie Dick (Rhiannon Giddens, Joan Shelley). Recorded old school live in one room by Grammy-winning engineer Charles Yingling (Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard), the sound of Workin's Too Hard is as warm, intimate, and deep as the songs themselves.



Rayna Gellert's deep roots in American traditional music have informed her work with artists such as Robyn Hitchcock, Tyler Ramsey, Sara Watkins, and John Paul Jones, as well as her tenure as a member of the stringband Uncle Earl. On Old Light: Songs from My Childhood & Other Gone Worlds, she delves into new territory, applying her unique musical background to original songs and fresh arrangements of traditional songs. With beautiful accompaniment from guitarist Nathan Salsburg and other contributors (including Abigail Washburn, Kai Welch, Scott Miller, and Alice Gerrard), Rayna explores memory — its fragility and its power — with restraint and originality.



Old Time fiddle record - just excellent playing of some old tunes.

These two are with Kieran Kane:



When the Sun Goes Down is the follow-up to Kieran Kane and Rayna Gellert's acclaimed debut, The Ledges. Recorded live at home, When the Sun Goes Down captures the duo's grounded, restrained playing and singing with a shimmering intimacy.

With themes ranging from the achingly personal to the pointedly political, these new songs from Kane and Gellert illustrate their movement toward a more thorough synthesis of their musical backgrounds. Guitar, fiddle, banjo, and octave mandolin — in combination with their deeply affecting vocal blend — are employed in ways both evocative and modern.

This is the sound of fortunate confluence.

A new school master of old time music, Rayna Gellert, partners with Americana godfather Kieran Kane.

They gather in an upstate New York bunkhouse, with fiddles, banjos, guitars, Kieran's famed octave mandolin, five microphones, and vague directives, and they emerge with songs that edify and fascinate.

The certainty of decades melds with discovery's first blush, in a whirl of tune, tone, touch, and timing. All of this happens along the banks of the Great Sacandaga Lake, in an area known as "the Ledges," where rocks meet deep water.

And it's all a marvel of rhythm, melody and harmony, at once unsuspected and ordained, containing a level of assured simplicity that can only be attained by those capable of roaring complexity.

Anyway, this thing is at once gorgeous and funky, easy and pulsating, luminous and flannel.

As we said, fortunate confluence.

Anyway, check her out - here's her website.

Also on another note, I just watched an excellent movie, The Mountain Minor, that features her father Dan Gellert playing old fiddle tunes and is well worth watching.  It's on Amazon Prime.

[SonicMan46]

Hi Dave - great stuff.  I've those three Monroe CDs you pictured, and the Flatt & Scruggs compilations look really good, but I discovered that I have them covered in a nice 4CD set, which I actually forgot I owned until you posted the others.  I have spent so much time streaming and hardly ever go look at my shelves, I kind of feel like I'm missing out on some stuff that I ought to listen to that I have in hard copy.   



I've been reading a book on the North Carolina music scene, and just finished the chapter on Earl Scruggs, what a story.  If you don't already know about it, this book might be something you'd enjoy.

   

Hi San Antone - thanks for the comments and mention of the book by Elizabeth Carlson - cannot believe I don't own it!  She lives in my home town of Winston Salem!  But remedied and coming from Amazon in a few days - OH, so many books to mention, but just a few added above - I have the 2nd ed of the Blue Ridge Music Trails published in 2013 so dated, but there is a 2018 edition that I'll likely order - excellent guide to BG/OT Music festivals in the region for those who may be visiting the area and have an interest.  Also, Linthead Stomp, an outstanding narration on the origins of 'country music' in the Piedmont - a LOT of Charlie Poole.  NOW my 'blood's boiling' to get back into listening to this music - unfortunately, my wife is not a big fan so we've not attended most of these venues, like 'Merlefest' in Wilkesboro (just a 40 min drive).  Dave

[Gurn Blanston]

Hi Gurn - yep, you certainly need some recordings of Monroe w/ Flatt & Scruggs in his band in the late '40s - just seminal bluegrass at its start w/ Earl astonishing on the banjo - the J.D. Crowe album w/ a young Skaggs & Rice (and Jerry Douglas - love the Dobro!) was an early addition to my BG collection years ago - Crowe continued on - I added the 2 CDs below but just looking on Amazon, he has others.  Dave

 

I'll no doubt expand on my Crowe albums, although I chose that one to start because of the players, which I understand are quite fluid. Skaggs, Rice & Douglas are a hard outfit to beat!

I also have a question for whichever one of you fellers is up for answering it: Scruggs came to the Bluegrass Boys as a replacement because the regular banjo was sick and couldn't make the tour. The regular banjo was David "Stringbean" Akeman, a damned fine player in his own right. What I'm curious about is if there is a recording featuring Stringbean instead of Scruggs. Anyone knows? 

[Old San Antone]

I'll no doubt expand on my Crowe albums, although I chose that one to start because of the players, which I understand are quite fluid. Skaggs, Rice & Douglas are a hard outfit to beat!

I also have a question for whichever one of you fellers is up for answering it: Scruggs came to the Bluegrass Boys as a replacement because the regular banjo was sick and couldn't make the tour. The regular banjo was David "Stringbean" Akeman, a damned fine player in his own right. What I'm curious about is if there is a recording featuring Stringbean instead of Scruggs. Anyone knows? 

Akeman played on one session, 2/13/1945, eight songs, which is the fist disc in the 1945*1949 box set.

The First Columbia Session: Chicago, Illinois February 13, 1945
1-01    Rocky Road Blues    
1-02    Kentucky Waltz    
1-03    True Life Blues    
1-04    Nobody Loves Me    
1-05    Goodbye Old Pal    
1-06    Footprints In The Snow    
1-07    Blue Grass Special    
1-08    Come Back To Me In My Dreams

Story about when Lester Flatt and Bill Monroe were auditioning banjo players, Lester Flatt didn't even think they needed one, and he didn't like Akeman's clawhammer style since he couldn't keep up with the fast tempos.  They had camped out in a hotel room listening to banjoist after banjoist, becoming progressively convinced they wouldn't find anyone.  Then Earl Scruggs, a wiry 22-year old youngster came in and blew their heads off.  Flatt told Monroe to hire him whatever it took.

[Gurn Blanston]

Akeman played on one session, 2/13/1945, eight songs, which is the fist disc in the 1945*1949 box set.

The First Columbia Session: Chicago, Illinois February 13, 1945
1-01    Rocky Road Blues    
1-02    Kentucky Waltz    
1-03    True Life Blues    
1-04    Nobody Loves Me    
1-05    Goodbye Old Pal    
1-06    Footprints In The Snow    
1-07    Blue Grass Special    
1-08    Come Back To Me In My Dreams

Story about when Lester Flatt and Bill Monroe were auditioning banjo players, Lester Flatt didn't even think they needed one, and he didn't like Akeman's clawhammer style since he couldn't keep up with the fast tempos.  They had camped out in a hotel room listening to banjoist after banjoist, becoming progressively convinced they wouldn't find anyone.  Then Earl Scruggs, a wiry 22-year old youngster came in and blew their heads off.  Flatt told Monroe to hire him whatever it took.

Excellent, thanks for that info. I love listening to String play! There are lots of videos of him on YT, which I especially like because you can SEE just how good he is. As you say, he played tempos that people could barely keep up with, and yet you watch him and he seems just effortless. Anyway, he's kinda funny too, FWIW.

[SonicMan46]

Excellent, thanks for that info. I love listening to String play! There are lots of videos of him on YT, which I especially like because you can SEE just how good he is. As you say, he played tempos that people could barely keep up with, and yet you watch him and he seems just effortless. Anyway, he's kinda funny too, FWIW.

Thanks San Antone for the details on Stringbeam Akeman, a great Grand Ole Opry performer - for those not familiar w/ the performer or the tragic death of him and his wife, then see quote below - Dave

Akeman was modest and unassuming, and he enjoyed hunting and fishing. Accustomed to the hard times of the Great Depression, Akeman and his wife Estell lived frugally in a small cabin at 2308 Baker Road, near Ridgetop, Tennessee. Their only indulgences were a Cadillac and a color TV. Depression-era bank failures caused Akeman not to trust banks with his money. Gossip around Nashville was that Akeman kept large amounts of cash on hand, though he was by no means wealthy by entertainment industry standards.

On Saturday night, November 10, 1973, Akeman and his wife returned home after he performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Both were shot dead shortly after their arrival. The killers had waited for hours. Their corpses were discovered the following morning by their neighbor, Grandpa Jones.

A police investigation resulted in the convictions of cousins John A. Brown and Marvin Douglas Brown, both 23 years old. They had ransacked the cabin, and killed Stringbean when he arrived. His wife shrieked when she saw her husband murdered. She begged for her life, but was shot, as well. According to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, "Upon their return, Mr. Akeman spotted the intruders in his home and evidently offered some resistance. One of the Brown cousins fatally shot Mr. Akeman, then pursued, shot, and killed Mrs. Akeman. At their trial (where Akeman's fellow cast member and friend Grandpa Jones testified, as he recognized one of the stolen firearms in the defendants' possession as a gift he had given Akeman), each defendant blamed the other for the homicides." The killers took only a chainsaw and some firearms. (Source)

[Old San Antone]

That story is so gruesome and tragic.  Such a sad loss.

[Gurn Blanston]

Thanks San Antone for the details on Stringbean Akeman, a great Grand Ole Opry performer - for those not familiar w/ the performer or the tragic death of him and his wife, then see quote below - Dave

That story is so gruesome and tragic.  Such a sad loss.

I know, right? There is simply no upside to it. The lowest elements of human nature on full display.

[Old San Antone]

A Juno–nominated and Grammy–award winning artist, John Reischman is known today for his work with his band the Jaybirds and his acclaimed solo albums, but he got his start as an original member of the Tony Rice Unit in the late 1970s. With the Tony Rice Unit, Reischman helped define the "new acoustic music" movement in bluegrass thanks to their high profile albums on Rounder Records. Building this sound, Reischman was of course influenced early on by Monroe's mandolin playing, but also by the playing of early bluegrass mandolinists like Sam Bush, David Grisman, and jazz mandolinist Jethro Burns. Living in the Bay Area in the 80s, Reischman toured and performed with seminal bluegrass band The Good Ol' Persons, cementing his reputation as a powerful mandolinist with an original vision for the instrument. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in the 1990s and formed The Jaybirds, but Reischman never stopped his musical explorations. In 1996, he won a Grammy as part of Todd Phillips' all-star tribute album to Bill Monroe. Over the years, he's overseen collaborations with a remarkably wide range of artists, like bluegrass singer Kathy Kallick, to guitarist Scott Nygaard, banjo wiz Tony Furtado, Chinese Music ensemble Red Chamber, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Celso Machado, singer songwriter Susan Crowe, and more. (Artist website)

I guess I first became aware of John Reischman through Tony Rice.  At that time I was more interested in just appreciating the Rice Unit and the songs, singing, and overall enjoyment of the band's musicianship.  But once Reischman went solo, and then with the Jaybirds, I came to appreciate his mastery of the mandolin and his searching intelligence.  Admittedly, I prefer his bluegrass records, but have listened to his other ventures and one thing is for certain - he is a phenomenal musician and makes great music with equally talented sidemen, often stars in their own right.

Some recordings:

On That Other Green Shore



On That Other Green Shore showcases an accomplished, experienced band at the peak of their powers, with musicianship of the very highest order.

The Jaybirds put their own particular stamp on bluegrass, old time and acoustic roots music, with a satisfying blend of traditional and modern styles, and they also give the impression that they really enjoy playing together. There's plenty here to please both bluegrass traditionalists and lovers of modern American folk music, especially for those with an appreciation of great harmony singing as well as masterful instrumental playing.



Another polished gem showcasing the band's trademark blend of old-time influences with a bluegrass twist, The Jaybirds offer their most wide-ranging effort to date, exploring a musical universe that glows throughout with bright, intelligent songs and instrumentals.

The multi-genre repertoire highlights the best of traditional and contemporary acoustic music, with all five band members again contributing new material — eight of the album's 14 numbers are certifiably fresh originals.

"Vintage & Unique has everything one could ask for in a great bluegrass recording; Exciting new originals, a couple of great traditional numbers, razor sharp picking, and strong, distinctive singing. And of course any opportunity to hear the best bluegrass mandolin player in the business is just icing on the cake." — Scott Tichenor, Mandolin Cafe



Walk Along John is John Reischman's first solo instrumental album in thirteen years, and it's a triumphant return to form. "It's also a celebration of his seminal influence in the world of bluegrass and "new acoustic music," a movement he contributed to with Tony Rice in the 1980s. A new generation of musicians has now grown up playing his tunes at jams and obsessing over his recordings. Chris Thile of The Punch Brothers joins John on the opening tune "Itzbin Reel," an early composition of John's that Chris has been playing since the age of 8. Eli West, from Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, listened endlessly to John's recordings while studying in college and guests on the album as well. Other next gen star players on the album include Sam Grisman and Mike Barnett from the young grasscore band The Deadly Gentlemen, and Canadian clawhammer banjo king Chris Coole.

Old friends return as well, from renowned old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky to innovative banjo genius Tony Trischka and star bluegrass guitarist Kenny Smith, not to mention members of John's band The Jaybirds. But the real focus of the album is John's musicianship, both as an artist and as a composer. His compositions, many of which have become jamming standards, run the gamut from the old-timey "Little Pine Siskin" to the bluesy (in the Dock Boggs sense) "Gold Mountain Blues," the eerily modal "Ice on the Dogwater," the blazing Bill Monroe tribute tune "Joe Ahr's Dream," and the softly gentle waltzes "Anisa's Lullaby" and "A Prairie Jewel." John's compositions shine here because he has the subtle ability to draw out the true heart of the melody.



"I hadn't written anything in a while" Reischman says of his latest CD. What sparked him was a pair of shows that he did in tribute to the music of Bill Monroe. "It was all written after Monroe passed away. I think all the musicians enjoyed playing it." And what a supporting cast of players he has assembled – Todd Phillips (bass), Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Jim Nunally (guitar), Dennis Caplinger (fiddle), Scott Nygaard (guitar), Nick Hornbuckle (banjo), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Kathy Kallick (guitar) and John Miller (guitar).

Here's one beauty of an album. John Reischman makes it strong, pretty, clean and rich, no matter the mood or tempo. And, as a bonus he's given us a blast of high pedigree, spanking new original tunes that pretty well cover the entire rooted landscape of Bill Monroe's music.

[Gurn Blanston]

So if I'm going to start with just one album of his, which is it?

[SonicMan46]

So if I'm going to start with just one album of his, which is it?

Great post San Antone on Reischman - knew the name and reputation and he plays on several of my Tony Rice CDs shown below (have Rice w/ others also, such as Norman Blake) - boy, have been 'out of' this music genre for a while!  We saw Rice in Boone a few years ago w/ a local BG band - he was still great on the guitar but had suffered from 'dystonia' and could not sing at all (missed his voice).  BTW, for those visiting downtown Boone, don't miss the bench w/ Doc's statue - took a pic w/ my wife sitting next to him but cannot locate at the moment.

BUT - as Gurn stated, I would also be curious in one or several Reischman recommendations - thanks.  Dave

     

 

[Old San Antone]

I'll let you decide, I like them all (except his more jazzier stuff which is not what I am looking for).  Here's some clips from a few of his "bluegrassy" records, and you can listen to most of his recordings on YouTube, plus his website is pretty informative.

The Harmonic Tone Revealers (2016)
"Lttle Sadie" - John Reischman, Scott Nygaard & Sharon Gilchrist

https://www.youtube.com/v/cYXLXGTUiPQ&list=OLAK5uy_nFJWCbHxkixePzox-SiqcpISpwAPA9Bjs&index=7

On That Other Green Shore (2017)
"Daylighting the Creek" - John Reischman & the Jaybirds

https://www.youtube.com/v/TcGsD7wbEEg&list=OLAK5uy_nfkR3AIcsVjJZjaEjR3Y79HAewZoUDyeU

Walk Along John (2013)
"Walk Along John to Kansas" - John Reischman

https://www.youtube.com/v/jOuW9SoKcvw

Up in the Woods (1999)
"Up in the Woods" - John Reischman

https://www.youtube.com/v/m45Oo-7YxBQ

I've been listening a lot to the Tone Revealers record, since it is new to me.  Nice sounds from the two mandolins, I was impressed with Sharon Gilchrist from a Peter Rowan Quartet record, with Tony Rice.  Also, all of these musicians teach on the Peghead Nation website, which is an excellent place to learn if you are wishing to do something like that.

[Gurn Blanston]

Great post San Antone on Reischman - knew the name and reputation and he plays on several of my Tony Rice CDs shown below (have Rice w/ others also, such as Norman Blake) - boy, have been 'out of' this music genre for a while!  We saw Rice in Boone a few years ago w/ a local BG band - he was still great on the guitar but had suffered from 'dystonia' and could not sing at all (missed his voice).  BTW, for those visiting downtown Boone, don't miss the bench w/ Doc's statue - took a pic w/ my wife sitting next to him but cannot locate at the moment.

BUT - as Gurn stated, I would also be curious in one or several Reischman recommendations - thanks.  Dave

 

I have this CD, but for the rest, I have him playing with others, like Crowe. He's also on a lot of places on Youtube, hell of a guitar player!

I'll let you decide, I like them all (except his more jazzier stuff which is not what I am looking for).  Here's some clips from a few of his "bluegrassy" records, and you can listen to most of his recordings on YouTube, plus his website is pretty informative.

The Harmonic Tone Revealers (2016)
"Lttle Sadie" - John Reischman, Scott Nygaard & Sharon Gilchrist

https://www.youtube.com/v/cYXLXGTUiPQ&list=OLAK5uy_nFJWCbHxkixePzox-SiqcpISpwAPA9Bjs&index=7

On That Other Green Shore (2017)
"Daylighting the Creek" - John Reischman & the Jaybirds

https://www.youtube.com/v/TcGsD7wbEEg&list=OLAK5uy_nfkR3AIcsVjJZjaEjR3Y79HAewZoUDyeU

Walk Along John (2013)
"Walk Along John to Kansas" - John Reischman

https://www.youtube.com/v/jOuW9SoKcvw

Up in the Woods (1999)
"Up in the Woods" - John Reischman

https://www.youtube.com/v/m45Oo-7YxBQ

I've been listening a lot to the Tone Revealers record, since it is new to me.  Nice sounds from the two mandolins, I was impressed with Sharon Gilchrist from a Peter Rowan Quartet record, with Tony Rice.  Also, all of these musicians teach on the Peghead Nation website, which is an excellent place to learn if you are wishing to do something like that.

Reckon I'll just have to play around with these. I tend to look at albums that have the most cuts by 'Traditional'.

[Old San Antone]

Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars...
Dwight Yoakam
September 23, 2016


I've been a Dwight Yoakam fan since his first album (although, at first, I was unsure if he was for real or not).  He was, and is, the real thing.  He grew up like so many bluegrass musicians in Kentucky, Pikeville in his case, and while he's paid the bills by playing a style of country laced with a good bit of the Bakersfield sound his bluegrass instincts are self-evident.

Rolling Stone interviewed him about the record in a lengthy article upon its release:

For 1992's Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, the banjo player Ralph Stanley, then 65 years old, worked with artists like George Jones, Vince Gill and Alison Krauss to create a concept double-album that was half-secular and half-gospel, with traditional sounds played by contem-porary artists. Dwight Yoakam took two tracks, and at the end of their session together, Stanley paid the younger artist the ultimate compliment. "We did 'Miner's Prayer' and 'Down Where the River Bends,' which was a Stanley Brothers song," Yoakam recalls. "And as we finished that night he said to me, 'Why... I believe you might be a bluegrass singer!'"

Yoakam's new album Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars . . .  might prove Stanley right, rearranging songs like "Guitars, Cadillacs" and "Please, Please Baby" with less electric guitar but plenty of fiddle, resonator and dobro. The combination produces a restless energy, and you can tell Yoakam was in a good mood when he recorded it – of the 12 tracks that made the final cut, he's only heartsick on 11.

Dwight Yoakam - What I Don't Know

https://www.youtube.com/v/oTlQ4LpItUA

On a side note, he had a co-starring role in one of my favorite movies, Slingblade, which is well worth seeing.  Mainly because of Billy Bob Thornton, but Yoakam and the young boy are also very good.

[Gurn Blanston]

Curious: are any of Alison Krause/Union Station's albums purely BG? Or are all of them a blend of BG & Country? No matter how well performed, I just don't really care a lot for modern country music. But I have seen various videos of them playing acoustic BG and was very impressed. Thoughts?

[Old San Antone]

Curious: are any of Alison Krause/Union Station's albums purely BG? Or are all of them a blend of BG & Country? No matter how well performed, I just don't really care a lot for modern country music. But I have seen various videos of them playing acoustic BG and was very impressed. Thoughts?

It is frustrating, I know, I feel the same way, i.e. wanting straight bluegrass without mixing in songs or styles not traditional.  It is something almost all bands from the 1990s forward all do.  But generally the earlier the better.  I've been posting about country singers doing bluegrass records, and I like them since they are good singers singing great songs in a bluegrass setting.  But when it comes to a bluegrass band, I just want the old sound. 

Too Late to Cry (1987) was her debut record (she was 16 I think) with Union Station and is pretty much all bluegrass (although there's still the sense it's not completely pure), and her Rounder Records contract required her to alternate a solo record for every band recording, and I think they also wanted her to do more cross-over material.  Her first solo record was Two Highways (1989), and is less bluegrassy, there's a couple of country songs and a bluegrass version of "Midnight Rambler", the Allman Brother's song - but also two or three traditional songs.  1990 she released another solo record, I've Got That Old Feeling, and by now she's moving more away from straight bluegrass, less than 50% BG.

By 1992 she was getting Grammy awards, and then she was on the path to crossing over more and more, e.g. using drums.  That said, Alison Krauss at least offers cross over done with pretty good taste.

It's an old story.  The Osborne Brothers started adding electric instruments in the '60s.  They say so they could be heard at the big festivals - but of all the older groups, they are my least favorite because they always seemed to be drawn away from the straight traditional sound.  But in their defense, once Rock & Roll hit in the mid '50s most bluergrass bands had a hard time getting gigs and many had to choose between changing their sound or leaving music altogether.

Which is why I was happy to see the bluegrass revival get a surge of energy after O Brother was a hit.