Customer Reviews

The David Grisman Quintet (US Release)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Call it Dawg Music, Newgrass, or New Acoustic, but this is the stuff man. This was the first of its kind, nobody had ever put together music this unique and unbelievably cool before Grisman and his all star cast of players cut this album. It is sublime. It was the groundbreaking album that gave birth to a whole new genre, and inspired youngsters such as Bela and Mike Marshall as well as the other acoustic virtuosos (if you're reading this you know the guys I'm referring to)to branch off of straight up Bluegrass and mix other styles to create some of the best acoustic music ears can have the pleasure of listening to. This DGQ debut album is addicting. I listen to it over and over and never tire of it. If you want to have some incredible music and know that you are listening to an album that broke all the conventional rules of traditional acoustic music when it came out in 1977, DO NOT HESITATE TO GET THIS. Then explore the many different formations of the David Grisman Quintet that would exist as time went by. Also, if you ever get the chance to see Grisman live, go for it.

The excitement of this music is palpable. You can FEEL the gusto that Tony Rice, David Grisman, Darol Anger, Todd Phillips and Bill Amatneek pour into these vigorous arrangements of mainly original tunes. The playing is breath-taking. The compositions are stunning. The arrangements are both meticulous where they need to be and loose and fiery where they need to be. Tony Rice, a master of MANY musical genres, listened to David Grisman's tunes and told him it was the best music he had ever heard. Titles like "the best", "the greatest" have little meaning in music.... but this project is ground-breaking. Those who want to "see" where current acoustic masters like Mark O'Connor, Bela Fleck, Chris Thile got their inspiration - THIS album would be "the first". All of THESE musicians REMAIN among the "masters".

alright, grisman would probably prefer the moniker "dawg music" to "newgrass," and "the telluride sessions" by the supergroup strength in numbers (bela fleck, jerry douglas, grisman alum mark oconnor, sam bush & edgar meyer) is on a plain with this one, but this is one came first, so it gets the nod. this album sings without vocals, it rocks though its entirely acoustic. if you have not heard the david grisman, do yourself a favor, buy this album. grisman later explored jazz, latin, & americana roots more deeply, but nowhere was his own vision of dawg music more fully realized than in this, his first album. features darol anger, todd phillips, & a startlingly young tony rice.

Maybe I'm impartial because I love David and the DGQ so much, but I think this is a great album. If you're reading this and you're looking for your first DAVID GRISMAN/ DAVID GRISMAN QUINTET album, I would purchase this one if I were you.

Every song on this album is creatively composed, well played, and just out-and-out great to listen to! While 16-16 is one of my least favorite Grisman compositions, this is my very favorite version of it of all the versions that have been released through the years. E.M.D., BLUE MIDNITE, PNEUMONIA, FISH SCALE, and DAWG'S RAG are some of the best music the men on this album have ever played, whether collectively or out on their own.

This is one of my favorite debut albums for any band, and it's one of the best DGQ albums thus far.

I could not agree more with the first review of this work by Mr. Sutherland, except to mention that the brilliant Mike Marshall does not appear on this work. Rather, the unparalled acoustic guitarist Tony Rice warps the flat-top from his pre-war D-28, with Grisman and Todd Phillips on Mandolins, Anger, etc. Music like this had not been heard at this time. Grisman joined the precision and spontaneity of the best jazz with the hard drive of Bluegrass, and this music mooooves.... Grisman, Rice, Anger, etc have recorded MANY fine albums since (I highly recommend "Mondo Mando", "Quintet '80", "Grisman and Grappelli" and "Dawg Jazz/Dawg Grass") but THIS is the landmark album.

This is the album that started it all - the whole Dawg Music phenomenon. As a result artists like Mark O'Connor, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, and Bela Fleck were later able to launch similar careers further expanding the boundaries of music. Stephane Grappelli gained widespread exposure in the US by touring and recording with the DGQ in 1979. Jerry Garcia later joined in the fun by recording numerous dawg tunes.

EMD (as Grisman explains, it was written for a bad movie about hot rods entitled Eat My Dust ... he was embarrassed to be a part of such a juvenile project so he named it with the initials) is one hot tune offering ample opportunity for fast pickin and fiddlin. Minor Swing is a Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli tune done dawggy style. 16/16 is named after the time signature which is rarely used in mandolin compositions. Ricochet is a great little tune featuring 3 mandolins playing melody and harmony throughout.

I would consider this album the Seargent Pepper of dawg music. This album more than any other opened the door to new ideas about acoustic music, making it okay for bluegrass musicians to play jazz, funk, or maybe even dabble a bit in classical. Likewise many classical and jazz musicians have discovered the pure joy of playing more traditional forms of music upon discovering the genius of some of these artists. Highly recommended.

If you like good musicianship, you'll love this album. Every member of the quintet was at the top of his form, and together they pushed each other in new directions. Tony Rice's guitar work on "Fish Scale" will make flatpickers cry, and "Richochet" is so sweet and tight that you'll wonder how they did it. There is something here for anyone who likes bluegrass or jazz, guitar, mandolin or violin.

Sadly, these musicians no longer play together; the quintet has gone through many personnel changes since. This is one of three albums that I take when testing stereo systems. Invariably other customers ask "What is that and where can I get it." It is a gem!

This album, that started off the David Grissman Quintets career is a masterpiece. Those looking for vocal-less bluegrass that focuses on outstanding changes and climaxing soloing, this is it. A thousand listens later, this cd still sends tingles down my spine, this album is full of grissman classics that make up the bulk of his live shows today. Buy this album, you won't be sorry.

This is one of the best works of music of all times. It is among the most musically inventive and innovative works of music. Fantastic musicianship. Of all the music that I have ever purchased, this has to be one of the best albums ever made. I still remember when and where I first heard it 25 years ago. I just purchased the CD of it from Amazon to replace my aging vinyl copy.

This is the original Dawg. Before the Latin beat, the South American guitarist, the flutes and the African drum. It is still beyond bluegrass, with jazzy and Latin overtones in parts, just a little closer to a "roots" sound than the albums after Hot Dawg.