Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 & 1947

Ricky Skaggs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Skaggs Family
• ASIN: B0014DC0ZA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,060 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Ricky Skaggs, Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 & 1947

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traditions, March 27, 2008

By 

James W. Durney (Tampa Bay area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 & 1947 (Audio CD)

Ricky Skaggs understands and respects tradition. Much of his work draws on the traditional sounds of Bluegrass music. He and his band are masters of this music, both understanding, respecting and reinterpreting it for our listening pleasure. Even with this, Skaggs is not stuck trying to reproduce note by note the sounds of Bill Monroe. He understands the need for interpretation and keeping the sound fresh. In this CD, he walks a fine line between slavish reproduction and interpretation. This is a very careful balancing act that could result in "all fall down, ashes ashes" if not done well.
The good news is it is done very well! From the reproduction of an old 78 on the CD face to the last track, this is a great listening experience and a valuable history lesson. "It's Might Dark to Travel" has always been a favorite of mine and this is an outstanding version. Joining this is "Little Cabin Home on the Hill" and "Why Did You Wander?" as great listening. The other nine tracks are excellent too. Each of us will have favorites that may or may not be mine.
I am a big Skaggs fan and automatically like his work. Having confessed, I will still maintain that this is one of the best CDs he has done.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This year's bluegrass CD!, June 15, 2008

By 

Matteo Ringressi (Forlì, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 & 1947 (Audio CD)

I've been thinking for years that Ricky is the "musical heir" of the great Bill Monroe. This CD confirms my idea. Twelve tracks of which Bill would be proud! Mr. Skaggs knows and plays a whole lot of Monroe-Style, especially his early kind of playing. And he can sing with so much emotion in his voice, it reaches our "bluegrass-fanatic" heart.
The band is up to the job aswell, and upon all smilin' Jim Mills, plays one of the most convincig hard drivin' traditional banjo styles nowadays. Andy Leftwich abandons modern and progressive influences to embrace Chubby Wise style completely and perfectly, Mark Fain as solid as ever, Paul Brewster...what can I say, one of the best tenor voices out there today. Last but not least, Cody Kilby plays a solid rhythm, and does some solos, that could be considered a bit "out of place" in recreating Monroe's 1947 sound, but yet very enjoyable.
I recommend this, which I think will be one of the best real bluegrass albums of 2008.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard not to Like Ricky Skaggs, February 7, 2009

By 

Rory Vanucchi (Fort Lauderdale, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 & 1947 (Audio CD)

Hey, the guy stays true to his roots, no gimmicks.
If you like bluegrass then you have to appreciate
the respect that Ricky shows for this roots music.
Roots music in general is dying out so this man is
a treasure to me. This guy is always worth listening to.