My Dixie Home

Jim Mills | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B00006JNFN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,385 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #21 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Bluegrass
  • #65 in Music > Indie Music > Country > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid project of traditional 'grass, March 12, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: My Dixie Home (Audio CD)

On "My Dixie Home," North Carolinian Jim Mills presents a collection of vocals and instrumentals made popular by the likes of Earl Scruggs, J. D. Crowe, Sonny Osborne, Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Doc Watson, Delmore Brothers, Granpa Jones, and Merle Travis. Jim Mills has played in various bluegrass bands (Summer Wages, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Bass Mountain Boys). He's been with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder since 1997, and Mills is a multiple winner of the IBMA Banjo Player of the Year Award. With this solo project, Mills gives us a perfect showcase for his technical skill on banjo, and the album offers some splendid traditional bluegrass.

Supporting musicians include Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Dan Tyminski (guitar), Adam Steffey (mandolin), and Barry Bales (bass). Dan Tyminski, Ricky Skaggs, Tim O'Brien and Paul Brewster contribute the vocals, which comprise seven tracks. Tragic Romance, Are You Waiting Just For Me, Little At A Time, and Goin' Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains were my favorites of the vocals. The title track, My Dixie Home, kicks off the project with a "train-like groove." Take The D Train then includes a medley of Train 45, Sally Goodin,' and Mama Blues that use a different fifth string tuning. The J.D. Crowe tune, "Black Jack," is given the old greased lighting treatment with a fast, driving, uptempo beat. I especially enjoyed Mills' rendition of "I'll See You In My Dreams," that closes the album with his bluesy thumbstyle guitar. I was impressed that "My Dixie Home" was recorded in just a three day period in May, 2002 with "as little overdubbing and compression as possible to capture the live feeling" of the music. For a solid project of traditional 'grass, this is one that fits the bill and gets my two thumbs up. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great old-fashioned bluegrass, December 7, 2002

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: My Dixie Home (Audio CD)

A pleasantly straightforward, melodic, all-traditional mountain music album by Ricky Skaggs' banjo picker, with nice vocal contributions from Ricky (on the title track), Tim O'Brien, Dan Tyminski and Paul Brewster. It's nice to hear Mills elevate himself out of Skaggs' current, too-slick style and simply bang out a pure-sounding bluegrass album. This doesn't send shivers down my spine the way an old Stanley Brothers song might, but it's still pretty good.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finger Pickin' Good, April 15, 2003

By 

Ben Fitzgerald - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Dixie Home (Audio CD)

Yep, the boy can pick. Jim Mills has mastered the banjer. Sure, he's slick, but he picks with heart and abandon. And while he has some big names on lead vocals, Mills remains the focus of this recording and the outright star.

In truth, there's not much to be said regarding My Dixie Home. It's just plain old, down home, hard driving bluegrass at its purest and best. Mills gives no slack on any of the tracks. Kudos must also be given to the sound engineer who found the perfect balance that allowed the banjo to feature, without overpowering. Not easy. Why not five stars? Because where would I put Ralph?

My picks: The hard driving opener - My Dixie Home and Country Blues - You'll never hear better. I mean the man just kills it! (And if you want to play along, the whole song is in the key of D. That's it, just D.)