Customer Reviews

Bluegrass Reunion

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This is an excellent collection of Bluegrass staples. These players are masters of the genre. And the guest appearance by Jerry Garcia on banjo is so fitting, that it makes you wonder what would have happened if Garcia had chosen the Bluegrass path instead of the Dead. Of course Dawg Grisman and Red Allen and Herb Pedersen give the proper respect to this timeless style of music. I've owned this for about ten years, and I have yet to get tired of it.

Along with albums by such groups as Old and in the Way (Garcia, Grisman, and friends) this disc is a beautiful collection of classics by some vurtuoso musicians that know how to achieve that "high lonesome sound". It has the nice combination of upbeat, bouncy tunes along with the wailing ballads. As a general Deadhead, I especially like the few tracks where Jerry Garcia joins in, but the whole thing is excellent.

I've had my own bluegrass band for a dozen years and many of the songs we do are because of this amazing album. It has the relaxed unpolished sound (deceptive) of a group of top musician friends who somehow combine an authentic old style bluegrass with something that doesn't seem old. Fresh, energetic, rough but refined. Not a bad note in the whole album even though it feels like every song was done in one take with little practice. It's raw in that the playing and singing sound like the REAL thing - cranky old instruments slightly out of tune, voices horse and aged, everything miked like they're in someones garage. It's authentic and unadorned. But the mix down and mastering is absolutely amazing in the way it brings it all together. I've never heard such a polished, unpolished album. Every listen lets me discover something new. I can easily say I've listened to this album over 100 times and I'm still not tired of it. It's one of those 'If I was stranded on an island with just one CD' releases thats a hands down choice.

BTW: Don't be overly swayed, or turned off by, Jerry Garcia's involvement. This album isn't really his. If you are anticipating Old and In The Way you're going to be disappointed. But listen to this without any expectations and just let the sound just wash over you, seep into your bones and bring you home to what bluegrass really is about. The best.