Customer Reviews

Live at the Charleston Music Hall

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bluegrass music is built for live performance. Capturing Skaggs and his band of virtuosos on stage, interacting with and spurred on by an audience, not only shows what these players can do (as opposed to what a studio can make them sound like they can do), but captures the heart and soul of their music. From the blistering traditional opener, "Black Eyed Suzie," to the extended closing jam on Bill Monroe's "Get Up John," Skaggs and his band show off an astounding precision that amplifies the music's joy without ever becoming a labored technical exercise.

Skaggs' nimble fingers can fly at a blinding speed, as can his bandmates' flat-picked guitar, finger-picked banjo and bowed fiddle. If the hot picking were merely a flashy stunt, it would be impressive, but their fluidity - their jazz-like interplay - is an essential element of the music. This intensity shines just as brightly when they slow down for tunes like Carter Stanley's "On a Lonesome Night" and Red Smiley's gospel country "I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer."

Skaggs' tenor is as smooth as ever, whether blending with the band's close harmony singing, or providing the show's continuity with between-song patter. This disc is a superb introduction for the bluegrass neophyte, and will please Skaggs' fans with many tunes never before recorded by the artist, including a pair of new instrumentals. A concert disc can't replace attending a live show, but this one communicates the exhilaration of the experience with exceptional eloquence.

I am a true fan of bluegrass...but this album takes the prize! I bought this for my husband for Valentine's Day and we can't quit listening! My 6 yr. old and 3 yr. old go around singing "Black-Eyed Susie", "Simple Life" and of course..."Country rocks, but Bluegrass RULES"! The last instrumental on the album is GREAT...it is over 8 minutes long and keeps your toes tapping the ENTIRE time! If you like Bluegrass...after listening to this...you will LOVE it and will want more of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. I wish this CD had an additional 24 tracks!!!!!!

Certainly it does if you listen to this record. Of course listening to a record can never replace the feeling of the live event, but this record captures a good deal of it. Skaggs always had the perfect sense for great pickers, so his band "Kentucky Thunder" is like an all star Bluegrass unit, from veteran fiddler Bobby Hicks to young guitar virtuoso Cody Kilby, these boys are really hot! Song selection is great, it definitely makes a difference to hear new songs or old tunes that haven't been recorded for ages than to hear Orange Blossom Special and Foggy Mountain Breakdown for the 328th time.

This one's probably the next Bluegrass Album of the Year!

This is a great live recording of beautifully executed bluegrass music by Ricky Skaggs and his band of incredible musicians. My tastes in bluegrass generally run to the more traditional - but this album would appeal to the "newgrass" crowd AND to people like me. The instrumentation and vocals are simply superb - one would be hard-pressed to find a better group of musicians in bluegrass music today than this group. This album has a little bit for everybody - real Stanley Bros. classics like "On a Lonesome Night" and "How Mtn. Girls Can Love" - original instrumentals by Ricky Skaggs - smokin' versions of Monroe tunes like "Uncle Pen" and "Get Up John" - the latter, in particular, simply blew me away. The recording quality is superb - in general, this is a fantastic album and I highly recommend it.

The combination of talent, experience, leadership, and unabashed enthusiasm for what they do make Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder one of the most entertaining live acts in bluegrass today. And this recording captures their energy with rare clarity.

Live at the Charleston Music Hall provides a number of new songs that give long standing fans some fresh and wonderful new material. But it's the RS&KT standards that provide the real surprise. The energy they deliver is more invigorating than any studio recording couold ever capture. It's like listening to them for the first time. And just wait till you hear the 10 minute Get Up John, it will blow your head apart!

Also, keep an ear out for Jim MIlls' IBMA award winning banjo. Mills has got to be the hottest banjer player on the scene. Also listen to the interplay between the two fiddle players - a true rarety in today's bluegrass.

This live recording outdoes the two most recent live-recording standouts from Alison Krauss & Union Station and Hot Rize. That's a bold statement, but I make it with confidence.

I had the priviledge of seeing Ricky Skaggs twice last wonter and this CD really captured the spirit of those shows. Even if we've heard some of the songs before, they are still great to hear with the energy of the live atmosphere. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes old time music.

If you like Ricky Skaggs, then you'll love this recording of a live performance by him and his band, Kentucky Thunder. The playing is always top-notch, with some songs played at a such a blinding speed that it leaves one slack-jawed. If you love Bluegrass music, you can't go wrong with this performance. Go see him live, too!

The crowd wasn't fired up enough for a live concert!
Still good numbers by Ricky and the Thunder..
Try Lester Flatt+Bill Monroe Live at Vanderbilt for
a really fired up concert..YEE HAW!!..

One of the best album they have done yet. I love every song on this album. Best of bluegrass. Buy this album. I listen to it everyday. Over and over. IT's great.

The best blugrass cd ever. Rick Skaggs is the best mandolin player. he does the Bill Monroe song uncle pen i am not saying he does it better but he takes in to the next level. if you live in the south or where bluegrass shows are next times rick skaggs and kentucky thunder come to your towm i would go see him. if you like Ricky Skagss go buy this cd you will be glad you do.