Country Hits: Bluegrass Style

Ricky Skaggs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 19, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Skaggs Family
• ASIN: B0052T7KF2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,912 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and Ricky's impeccable tenor voice deliver a stellar set of bluegrass versions of his own biggest hits plus classics he grew up loving. His superb new album includes Uncle Pen; Cajun Moon; Heartbroke; Country Boy; I Don't Care; Lovin' Only Me; Highway 40 Blues; Don't Get Above Your Raising , and more!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost amazing... August 5, 2011

By Ron Lapointe

Format:Audio CD

A beautiful 'bluegrass-ish' re-arrangement of a lot of Ricky's best songs from early in his career. This album boasts his trademark incredible musicianship and spandex-tight harmonies that you will truly enjoy. My only gripe with the album is that I guess I am a bit of a bluegrass snob, in that I was hoping to hear only acoustic instruments used and certainly no drums, but alas, both a drum kit and electric steel can be heard on multiple tracks. Get rid of the electric steel and throw in a dobro...dump the drums for the natural bluegrass percussion found in your strumming! Strip it down, I say! All in all, a really good piece of listening, but it could have, and should have been great.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Country Hits: Bluegrass Style - A Perfect Title July 20, 2011

By Kort TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

This is an album Skaggs fans have been clamoring for quite a while. Ricky both gets back to his bluegrass roots and treats us to some update versions of hit county tunes. The emphasis of the album is traditional country music with the bluegrass sound varying in prominence throughout. Some song were even originally bluegrass, like "Don't Get Above Your Raising" and "Uncle Penn". Add classics like "Heartbroke", "Cajun Moon" and "Cryin' My Heart Over You" and 'Country Hits Bluegrass Style' is a hard album not to like.

Skaggs' twangy crooning is a pleasure to listen to, and the virtuosity of the fiddling and string-plucking of he and the band cannot be denied. His hit "Country Boy" is currently being feature as a free MP3 download here on Amazon and is one of my favorites from the album ...and is arguably the most energetic track. "Toe tapping" is an over-used descriptive, but here the shoe fits. There is also a Loony Tunes 'Merry Melodies Theme' excerpt near the end that never fails to bring a smile to face. Its quick pace and vocals remain true to the original yet there is no denying the updated bluegrass style fits the song.

I don't purchase much country music, but I'm a fan of folk and bluegrass and Ricky Skaggs sure got my attention with this album. While it may have a bit more studio polish than a lot of traditional bluegrass, it still feels authentic to this (mostly) city-slicker-but-country-boy at heart.

~ Kort

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Country Hits: Bluegrass Style - A Thoroughly Misleading Title November 13, 2011

By Vinnie Silvagio

Format:Audio CD

It sounds to me like it should be titled "Country, Cajun, and Bluegrass Hits - Reinterpreted". (Unfortunately, that might not be a wise move commercially.) The presence of a pedal steel guitar and drums on most cuts should disqualify them as "bluegrass". The pedal steel is pure country. The drums are a gray area. Certainly many bluegrass bands have drummers, but most of them are "newgrass", specializing in non-bluegrass tunes and songs performed with bluegrass instrumentation (plus drums). Drums are not, in any case, a traditional bluegrass instrument. (Yeah, I know Ricky often utilized drums.) And how about that piano on "Raisin'" (renamed "Raising" for this performance)? And if "Somebody's Prayin'" is bluegrass, then Patsy Cline is heavy metal.

Ricky has performed most of these numbers on previous albums. And to my ears, these performances are in no way more "bluegrass" than any of the older tracks. Most of them actually sound more "country and western" to me. Most are far more mellow than the older cuts, while bluegrass is often characterized by an intensity and energy that is just not present here. And then there's that pedal steel.... But what's most important is the "feel"; it just doesn't sound like bluegrass.

Ricky Skaggs is a national treasure, one of the finest musicians of the late 20th - early 21st centuries. EVERYTHING he does is great. This album is no exception. The man is a master vocalist, incredible picker, and amazing arranger/producer. I can listen to him over and over, and never tire of his sound. One of the most exciting things about his music is its often genre-bending nature. This album is no exception.

Just don't expect to hear Ricky at his "bluegrassiest".