Fair Weather

Alison Brown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 9, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Compass Records
• ASIN: B00004SR01
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,972 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Considering the bluegrass renaissance we've gladly witnessed at the end of the 1990s, it's not surprising that banjo wizard Alison Brown would move away from her more progressive jazz-based endeavors and return to more traditional-sounding bluegrass. High-profile, all-star affairs such as Béla Fleck's Bluegrass Sessions, Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band's The Mountain, and Dolly Parton's The Grass Is Blue helped the genre rise to new heights in popularity in 1999. Who knows what spurred Brown to make Fair Weather, but the end result is a stunning, appealing, broad-ranging, star-studded record. In the company of acoustic-music royalty--Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Mike Marshall, Tony Rice, David Grier, Matt Flinner, Darol Anger, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Tim O'Brien, and Todd Phillips--Brown plows through hard-charging breakdowns, minor-keyed newgrass, solo-banjo lullabies, and everything in between. Vince Gill sings the bright title track and Claire Lynch handles vocals on the delightful "Hummingbird." The two famous cover songs--Elvis Costello's "Everyday I Write the Book" (sung by Bush) and Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" (sung by O'Brien)--are pleasant enough diversions, though they pale in comparison to the likes of "Shake and Howdy," an intricate, classically tinged trio with Anger and Marshall. And, lest we forget, the compositional skills and mesmerizing banjo work of Ms. Brown, a woman who is acutely aware of the vast melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic possibilities of her instrument and always takes full advantage of them. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't love it because she's smart or pretty...., January 17, 2002

By 

Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fair Weather (Audio CD)

Love it because it's GOOD! Alison Brown must be the only Big Name Banjo player educated at Harvard with an MBA from UCLA and her own record label. What's important on THIS recording, however, is that she is also on the VERY short list of the best banjo players(or musicians) - period. She also plays guitar so well that on "Deep Gap" (named after Doc Watson's home town) you can't tell which track is Alison and which is IBMA guitar player of the year David Grier. Her compositions are steller, the arrangements sparkle, and she gets the most out of her band and guest stars. Great vocals from Vince Gill, Claire Lynch and fellow NewGranger Tim O'Brien. Blistering hot instrumental work from Rice, Bush, Fleck, Duncan, Marshall, Grier and the woman herself. This grammy-winning album joins the cannon of "classic" bluegrass recordings. I had to "edit" my Amazon list to include it!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alison's Answer to Bela's Bluegrass Sessions, August 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fair Weather (Audio CD)

Does Alison Brown ever tire of comparisons to banjo master Bela Fleck? Surely she must. W this CD, she returns to her BG roots, with a truly star studded lineup. The outstanding "The Devil went down to Berkley" features the old DGQ band (Anger, Marshall, Phillips & the incomparable Tony Rice). Another track features the Flinner/Phillips/Grier trio (okay, so maybe David Grier is comparable to Tony Rice). THE highlight on the disk is a remarkable cover of Elvis Costello's (that's right, Elvis Costello) "Everyday I Write the Book" featuring Sam Bush on vocals. Another highlight is "Leaving Cottondale" featuring the aforementioned Mr. Fleck. The liner notes say she's on one side, he on the other, but I can't tell one from the other. This disk will surely bring to mind Bela's Bluegrass SEssions, although it doesn't have the couple of oddities Bela threw in on his (eg, "Polka on the Banjo" & "Do You Have Room" - shouldve been no room for THAT dog on that otherwise flawless disk). Get it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Welcome Departure, October 9, 2002

By 

Gary Popovich "Retired Banjo Picker" (Chesterfield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fair Weather (Audio CD)

Whether it due to the passing of Bill Monroe or the unexpected success of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", many mainstream country (Patty Lovelace, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill) and new acoustic (Bela Fleck) artists have released work that either pay homage to their bluegrass roots or at least have some sort of "retro-grass" sound. And while a cover version of Elvis Costello's "Every Day I Write the Book" ain't exactly "Uncle Pen," it's interesting and refreshing to hear Alison Brown's evocative banjo picking in a more traditional setting. Alison lined up many of the bluegrass world's usual suspects (Fleck, Mike Marshall, Daryl Anger, Tim O'Brien, Stuart Duncan) to deliver an effort that's both accessible ("Book," "Everybody's Talkin'", and the title song - great vocal by Gill!) and exciting ("Shake and Howdy" and her signature breakdown, "Leaving Cottondale" - worthy of re-recording here because of the great banjo interplay between Alison and Bela).

Alison will undoubtedly continue to record with her jazz-oriented band (not that there's anything wrong with that), but for those of us who enjoy the acoustic string sound, this one will have to do for awhile. Fortunately, it's a very enjoyable ride.