Hand-Picked: 25 Years Of Bluegrass On Rounder Records

Rounder Records Bluegrass (Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Rounder / UMGD
• ASIN: B0000004DW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,792 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #32 in Music > Country > Classic Country > Old-Time Country
  • #68 in Music > Pop > By Decade > 1980s
  • #75 in Music > Pop > By Decade > 1990s

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Old Home Place - J.D. Crowe And The New South

2. Along About Daybreak - Joe Val

3. High On A Mountain - Del McCoury

4. Barrel Of Fun - Country Cooking

5. West Virginia, My Home - Hazel Dickens

6. Blue Eyed Boston Boy - Bluegrass Cardinals

7. The Old Swinging Bridge - TED LUNDY

8. Golden Ring - Dry Branch Fire Squad

9. Things In Life - Don Stover

10. The Last Old Shovel - Phyllis Boyens

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Leavin' - James King

2. Lonesome River - HERE TODAY

3. Hard Hearted - Jim And Jesse

4. My Better Years - The Johnson Mountain Boys

5. Second Wind - Claire Lynch

6. New Faces In The Field - IIIrd Tyme Out

7. New York Chimes - Tony Trischka

8. Is The Blue Moon Still Shining? - Laurie Lewis And Kathy Kallick

9. Flop Eared Mule - David Grier And Mike Compton

10. Every Time You Say Goodbye - Alison Krauss

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rounder compiled this superb 50-song set to serve as an introduction to bluegrass in general and to their own catalog in particular. Obvious marketing motives aside, the collection has few weaknesses and offers a broad look at the ever-morphing genre. Perhaps more than any other label, Rounder gave exposure to the renegade progressive and "newgrass" musicians who worshipped the style despite the fact that they weren't from the mountains. Folks like David Grisman, Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, and Bela Fleck push the music in new directions while others such as Del McCoury, Don Stover, James King, Jim & Jesse, and Vern Williams represent more-traditional concerns. Still others--Tony Rice, David Grier, J.D. Crowe, Nashville Bluegrass Band among them--adeptly fuse elements of tradition and innovation. This collection also highlights the important contributions of female artists including Hazel and Alice, Laurie Lewis, Claire Lynch, and Alison Krauss. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Hand Picked, The Best of Watermelon Park Fest contains an amazing selection of bluegrass and acoustic music favorites from the famous Watermelon Park Bluegrass Fest from years 2004 and 2005. This incredible collection includes tracks by Tim O'Brien, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, The Hunger Mountain Boys, Blue Light Special, Keith Lovett, Will Lee and Danny Knicely, The Good Deale Bluegrass Band, Alex Wudarski and Vernon Hughes, David Via and Corn Tornado, The Mando Mafia, Raymond Riley and the Loudoun Travelers, The Woodshedders, and the Furnace Mountain Band. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent bluegrass sampler, April 9, 2004

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hand-Picked: 25 Years Of Bluegrass On Rounder Records (Audio CD)

Rounder have priced this very competitively, hoping that people who buy this will think it is so brilliant that they will buy some of the albums from which the tracks are taken. To encourage this, the extensive liner notes give all the relevant information required to track down whichever album contains your favorite tracks. But although you might end up spending more money on Rounder albums, this compilation stands on its own merit.

What you get here, are 49 tracks recorded for one of the most important - perhaps the most important - bluegrass labels around. (Of course, Rounder do a lot more than bluegrass, but that's not relevant here.) Bluegrass music is generally upbeat, good-time music and that is the overall feel of this collection.

Among the 49 tracks, every aspect of bluegrass music is represented from traditional to contemporary and including all types of song that you might find on a bluegrass album. With such notable artists as J D Crowe, Ricky Skaggs, Claire Lynch, Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Jim and Jesse, Del McCoury, Hazel Dickens, the Johnson mountain boys, Lynn Morris and Laurie Lewis represented here, this is a star-studded line-up. And I didn't name all the stars.

Famous songs are notable by their absence although some songs here are better known than others. Drifting too far from the shore (Boone Creek) is a traditional gospel song. When someone wants to leave (Allen brothers) is a cover of a Dolly Parton song from her Jolene album. Golden ring (Dry branch fire squad) is a cover of one of the classic duets by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Sourwood Mountain (Allen Shelton) is a cover of a traditional folk song.

As an introduction to bluegrass music, this is brilliant - it is one of the best there is for that purpose. Appalachian stomp (two volumes) and the various O sister compilations are other great alternatives.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to bluegrass, May 22, 2000

By 

"debbie-n-va" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hand-Picked: 25 Years Of Bluegrass On Rounder Records (Audio CD)

I think this CD is absolutely the best buy for your dollar. On it are a variety of bluegrass songs, something for everyone. If you are, like me, not familiar with some of the band/performers names that you see in the music store, these CD's will help you decide which artists you like enough to buy the whole CD's. One of my favorites is Blue Eyed Boston Boy, just love the harmony and the fact that the instrumental portions of the song are sparse, letting you concentrate much more on the lyrics. River of Jordan has always been a favorite of mine, and there are several others. There are a few, but only a few, cuts on the CD's that are hard to listen too (some of the vocals) but the instrumental parts of the songs are amazingly done. Some of my very favorites: Ricky Skaggs, Lynn Morris, Laurie Lewis, Claire Lynch, Tony Rice and Allison Kraus are featured on these CD's. Really, it's a great introduction to bluegrass or a nice addition to any collection.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars + 1/2 stars...Stellar Bluegrass Collection, November 9, 2004

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hand-Picked: 25 Years Of Bluegrass On Rounder Records (Audio CD)

Whether you like your bluegrass traditional, progressive or genre-bending; there is plenty to enjoy on this 49-track, two and a half hour collection from one of the most influential labels in bluegrass music.

This two-CD set reads like a who's who of bluegrass. JD Crowe, Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, David Grisman, Alison Krauss, Tony Trischka...the list goes on and on. And when you look at the price, this becomes a no-brainer. Enjoy! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED