Customer Reviews

Bluegrass: An Informal Guide

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With 500 CD and video suggestions this book is a must have if you're looking for some guidance on CD and video purchases. Stop and think...how much have you spent for CD's that you don't like. If I lost my copy, I'd pay twice the price to get another.

Smith gives a lot of basic information that a bluegrass newcomer might want to know -- the essential names, the basics of each instrument, what to expect at a festival, etc. The author's style gets a little cutesy at times, but he does warn you that this is an "informal guide."

Not everyone who has heard Bluegrass music, and was attracted by the driving fiddle playing and banjo picking is aware of the history of the genre. There are several more scholarly studies of this subject, aimed at more knowledgeable listeners, but, for someone who is just getting interested in the form, this may be the best book-length introduction available today. With emphasis on the musicians who developed the form, but with up-to-date coverage of the directions Bluegrass music has taken in the fifty years of its life and where it may head off to in the future, Smith, in his approachable style offers a succinct introduction to one of the most enjoyable forms of country music.

This book includes 15 chapters and 3 appendixes. Chapter 1 provides a brief intoduction to bluegrass, including a description of its primary musical instruments such as the banjo, fiddle and mandolin. Chapters 2 through 8 are devoted to some of the the all time greats of bluegrass, including Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs and the Osborne Brothers. Chapters 9 to 15 cover a wide range of topics, such as female bluegrass musicians, bluegrass gospel and "newgrass". The appendixes offer contact information for various bluegrass magazines, newsletters and organizations as well what to know before attending a bluegrass festival.

Richard Smith is a fine writer and this book serves as an excellent introduction for someone new to the beautiful sounds of bluegrass. This book was written in 1995 so obviously it is going to be a little out of date in terms of the recommended resources and current favorite musicians on the bluegrass scene. But the bulk of the writing is based on the classic musical styles and all time great players of bluegrass and is still extremely relevant and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended!