Ready to Go

Bryan Sutton

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 22, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 22, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B00004C4R0
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,592 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Certainly we expect to be rocked on our heels by dazzling licks from a twentysomething bluegrass guitar prodigy who's played with everyone from Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas to the Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton, and Rhonda Vincent. But what's startling about Bryan Sutton's self-produced and aptly-named first record (which features Skaggs, Parton, Douglas, and other distinguished guests) is how soulful, eclectic, and fully realized it is. Sure, there are hot leads aplenty on instrumental originals like "Decision at Glady Fork" and "Highland Rim," on traditional romps such as "Tater Patch," and on Sutton's reading of Bill Monroe's "Brown County Breakdown." But there are also superb renditions of jazz staples like the Stephane Grappelli/Django Reinhardt chestnut "Minor Swing" and the Gershwins' "Lady Be Good," plus a fervent version of U2's "When Love Comes to Town" featuring Jeff White on vocals. Sutton masterfully shifts into the role of tasteful sideman as Parton takes a haunting vocal turn on her own "Smoky Mountain Memories" and as gospel singers Becky and Sonya Isaacs deliver a lovely interpretation of the traditional "The Water Is Wide." --Bob Allen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible debut, March 10, 2000

By A Customer

A lot of debut albums by wildly talented musicians are so insistent on demonstrating the virtuosity of the player that they alienate the lay listener. Not so with this one. Though always technically dazzling, Sutton's playing on "Ready to Go" is melodic and tasteful, almost self-consciously restrained. Anyone who has heard his flame-thrower solos on Ricky Skaggs' recent albums needs no further proof of Sutton's abilities, but what's even more impressive is that on this album Sutton proves himself an excellent writer(Decision at Glady Fork, The Good Deed), as well as a virtuoso player outside the bluegrass idiom (Minor Swing, Lady Be Good). A lot of "player" albums out of Nashville disappoint because, for some reason, many technically-minded musicians never fully cultivate musical taste. They seem not to know when to back off. Sutton though ranks with people like Tony Rice, Kenny Smith, and Norman Blake who make you say 'wow' as much with their playing as with their music. This album has the added advantage of being incredibly well-mixed/produced, so you get the full-bore sound of Sutton's guitar. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable!, October 14, 2000

By	M. Basinger "mdbasinger" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't rate many albums with 5 stars. They have to really knock me for a loop and this album does the trick. A great mixture as stated by others of traditional bluegrass along with a beautiful rendition of Reinhardt and Grapelli's Minor Swing and Gershwins Lady Be Good. I also was very impressed with each of the vocal tracks which added a unique flavor to the collection of songs. The harmony of the Isaacs on The Water is Wide was worth the album alone.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Tarheel's Vamp, March 8, 2001

By	Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Bryan Sutton blazes on the acoustic guitar. The different guitars played are lovingly displayed on the insert. Sutton who is from Asheville, North Carolina was part of Ricky Skaggs' Kentucky Thunder band. This CD is full of fast instrumentals like the opener, "Decision at Glady Fork." "Highland Rim," "Walk Among the Woods," "Grover's Glen," and the fast little reel "Tater Patch" all display similar dexterity. A pitfall for a CD with many instrumentals is that they may start to sound similar. For the most part, Sutton escapes this dilemma. Ricky Skaggs' mandolin and Aubrie Haynie's fiddle spark the bluegrass tune "Blue Night" with a guest vocal by Pat Enright of the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Bill Monroe's "Brown County Breakdown" is remade as a fast guitar romp with Haynie's blazing fiddle dueling with Sutton's guitar. Sutton also recasts a number of songs. From U2's "Rattle & Hum," he takes "When Love Comes to Town" and gives it an old-timey country feel. "Minor Swing" catches a bluegrass groove with Haynie's fiddle joining Sutton on guitar. Gospel singer Becky Isaacs Bowman does a stately folk vocal on the lovely "The Water Is Wide." Sutton played on Dolly Parton's "The Grass Is Blue"; she returns the favor with a passionate vocal on her song "Smoky Mountain Memories." George and Ira Gershwin's "Lady Be Good" is given a great treatment. The three tunes which honor his grandfather in "Chief's Medley" take you to a time in the North Carolina mountains when an 8 year old learned to play from watching his granddad. The CD closes with a stunning instrumental of just solo guitar, "The Good Deed." The wistful emotions Sutton wrenches from the guitar and tune are worth the price of the CD. If you've heard Sutton on The Dixie Chic's "Fly" CD or with Skaggs or Parton or are just looking for a strong acoustic guitar, this is one you'll want to take home!