Five & Dime

John Lawless | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Copper Creek
• ASIN: B0002YLCXS
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #812,880 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This is the debut solo project from John Lawless of AcuTab Publications – a business dedicated to producing high quality instructional materials for bluegrass instruments – and Huber Banjos. Through his association with AcuTab and the related promotion of the firm, John has established a recognizable name for himself in the bluegrass community. The CD features 10 original banjo instrumentals of John’s, plus three vocal pieces featuring singers with whom John has worked over the years. Stylistically, the CD covers a wide range including John’s take on bluegrass, old-time, and modern acoustic music. Guest artists include many of the high profile pickers whose music has been profiled in the various AcuTab books and DVDs over the years. With the release of Five & Dime, John eagerly shares his own banjo compositions with the rest of the bluegrass world. Produced by IBMA award-winning instrumentalist Ron Stewart, the disc has an all-star lineup including: Herschel Sizemore, Alan Bibey, and Warren Amberson (all on mandolin), Tim Stafford (of Blue Highway), Kenny Smith (Kenny & Amanda Smith), Dewey Peters, Tony Collins, and Kelly Green (all on guitar), Ron Stewart (fiddle), Rob Ickes (of Blue Highway) (dobro), Greg Honeycutt (bass), and Bill Smith, Warren Amberson, and Kelly Green (all on vocals). Special bonus: the CD contains CD-Rom info with musical tablature on all 13 tracks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jampacked with solid, adroit, inspired playing, October 11, 2004

By 

J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five & Dime (Audio CD)

"Five & Dime," the debut solo album from AcuTab founder John Lawless features ten original banjo tunes, and three vocal numbers (Twilight, Listen to the Music, Baby Girl) sung by Bill Smith, Warren Amberson, and Kelly Green, respectively. And yes, "Listen to the Music" is a cover of the famous Doobie Brothers song. Other guest musicians include Dewey Peters, Alan Bibey, Herschel Sizemore, Tony Collins, Kenny Smith, Greg Honeycutt, Tim Stafford, Rob Ickes, and Ron Stewart.

Warren Amberson, Kelly Green, Greg Honeycutt, Dewey Peters and John Lawless are members of the band, Acoustic Endeavors. Amberson and Green are both graduates of the bluegrass music program at East Tennessee State University. Acoustic Endeavors' two highly-acclaimed CDs include "Coming Of Age... again" and "Sneak Preview." John Lawless lives in Roanoke where he manages AcuTab Publications, a small business dedicated to producing high quality instructional materials for bluegrass instruments. He started playing and studying the banjo in the 70s.

Lawless picks his crisp Huber banjo with a whole lotta gumption, and his friends provide plenty of flash. The result is an album that gets up and goes at a right pert and snappy pace. Each piece is memorable, whether it be "Guilty Pig" (a banjo/fiddle duet), "None Finer" (a banjo/dobro duet for his fiance), "How R Ya Waltz" (a waltz for banjo) or "Up All Night" (a fiery closing breakdown). It's also enlightening to compare the contrasting mandolin styles of Alan Bibey and Herschel Sizemore.

John Lawless covers a lot of ground on this project, and his skillful banjo-picking is always kept in the forefront. With nimble firework fingers, John demonstrates a cleverness that is innovative and takes risks in his contemporary music without any of the usual antics or stereotypes that some 5-string players are tempted to employ. "Five & Dime" is jampacked with solid, adroit, inspired playing without any grandstanding, despite the all-star guest list. The CD includes banjo tabs for all the tunes, as well as an interactive Copper Creek Record catalog. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)