Customer Reviews

Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Playing Time - 48:56 -- Sparks are bound to fly when two Grammy Award winners get together for a musical collaboration. Pianist Hornsby and multi-instrumentalist Skaggs build an interpretive bridge into adventurous Americana territory. First, there are the diverse roots and influences that each brings to the table. Second, there is the strong original material that each contributes. Finally, there is the instrumental cohesiveness of Skaggs' regular Kentucky Thunder band members. Sung by Skaggs or Hornsby, the songs don't necessarily strive for arrangements that emphasize vocal harmony. Rather, they tend to impart rhythmic intensity and the unique instrumental flair of various genres. This is largely the result of the musical union of piano (and even some minimal organ) with the likes of banjo, mandolin, accordion, fiddle, guitar, bass, jaw harp, resonator guitar, drums and more. It's a fascinating mixture that conveys energy, velocity and excitement. If one questions the appropriateness of piano breaks in hoedown music, then you need to hear "Sheep Shell Corn" to prove that it can be successfully done. Hornsby has a best-selling 4-CD product out called "Intersections," and Hornsby and Skaggs have taped a "Crossroads" show for Country Music Television (CMT). So, in a sense this album reinforces their enthusiastic intent to provide strong cutting edge music that fuses pop and bluegrass in a place where different genres meet amiably.

Hornsby's reinvented hit "Mandolin Rain" makes reference to the bluegrass band that "takes the chill from the air `til they play the last song," but the song is light years from your daddy Bill Monroe's bluegrass. Ricky Skaggs' instrumental "Stubb" offers spicy Cajun flavoring. The CD jacket includes lyrics for all of the songs. With "The Dreaded Spoon," who would've thought an entire song could be written from a kid's perspective about having to share his ice cream and cookies with the old man? The references to the "flash of a knife" and "jumpsuit of pain" in Hornsby's melodic "Crown of Jewels" indicates that he's telling a story of murder, deceit and downfall. The storyteller's "A Night on the Town" is a ballad that sets the stage for a showdown between some country and city boys that also leaves a scar. Skaggs' major contributions come in the way of arrangements for "Across the Rocky Mountain" and "Hills of Mexico." While both are seminal, this album is an interesting dichotomy to the old-time brother duet country music that Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice put out in 1980. Various forks in the road over the course of three decades can lead musicians in many directions.

Sonic alchemy such as this calls for cross-fertilization and transmutation between genres. Under the right circumstances, alchemy can also yield gold. Besides a few traditional offerings, the set also includes some interesting material from Gordon Kennedy/Phil Madeira and James Johnson/Alonzo Miller. From the former, "Come on Out" is a call to take control of your own fate by reaching for the sky, and the arrangement features Kennedy's resonator guitars. From the latter pair of songwriters, "Super Freak" (originally sung by Rick James) is certainly a wild and kinky way to close the album with a tale about a special kind of band groupie who likes incense, wine and candles. John Anderson's ad-lib vocals lay right in alongside Hornsby and Skagg's. Overall, the collaboration of Skaggs and Hornsby is a memorable one that is full of musical individualism, provocation and moxie. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

Next to the forthcoming CD with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jack DeJohnette, there will probably not be another pairing this cool this year. HEY GRAMMY'S: Pay attention. These guys need a nod.
Super Freak makes it worth the price of the disc. Mandolin Rain redux is a new classic. Buy it~

Nice pairing of Hornsby and Skaggs . The CMT concert was great and so is this cd. Lets hope the duo will tour together too. Good stuff buy the cd and enjoy.

If by chance you like bluegrass and you enjoy the piano work of Bruce Hornsby, you can't go wrong with this album. It's been on constant rotation in my CD player since the day I bought it. There's not a single song I would skip over, and that doesn't happen very often! Piano, mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo--it's all here and it is exquisite.

As other reviewers have said, don't expect the same-old same-old, especially when it comes to "Mandolin Rain." I didn't like it the first time I heard it because it was so different from the original, but now I can't even remember how the other version goes. It's all part of the Skaggs/Horsby magic!

Bluegrass fans, forgive me. I come new to the genre from Bruce Hornsby fandom, so I'm not even going to try and comment on style. I only know what I like about bluegrass and this CD is a great entree for me.

The sheer joy of the players was the first thing I noted about the CD. "Dreaded Spoon" was a great opener that brought back memories of childhood days and having to share ice cream.

I liked both re-makes of Bruce Hornsby tunes. I have 3 additional versions of the song from various Hornsby CD's, but this one's a current favorite. "Night on the Town" takes on more of the city and country parts of the battle, too.

"Crown of Jewels" got stuck on repeat til I completely understood the whole thing. Very well done and one of the better story song I've heard.

"Super Freak" was a hilarious finish. Who'd have thought that song could be covered by bluegrass?

I saw Skaggs and Hornsby on a televised concert, I believe broadcast on CMT. It was great. The chemistry, fine musicianship, ( lots of credit goes to the back up band - Skaggs's crew, the Kentucky Thunder) and a good mixture of tunes made for a memorable performance. This left me with a great sense of anticipation for the album release, enough so that I pre-ordered it, something I seldom do.

The first listening left me cold. The first number, the sort of humorous ` The Dreaded Spoon" was a catchy tune, but easily forgettable. Nothing much going on after that until the fourth cut, a stunning version of Hornsby's " Mandolin Rain". I was hoping that things would pick up from there, but nothing grabbed my attention until the final cut, "Super Freak". This was due more to the novelty of hearing a Rick James classic being performed in a bluegrass style than to the actual enjoyment of the song.

First listenings are never a good way to form a judgment. I made subsequent repeated listenings hoping that I missed something the first time around. While I became more comfortable with what I was listening to, it still didn't grab me, particularly since I had such high hopes about the pairing of these two fine musicians. Why wasn't I enjoying this CD nearly as much as I did the TV special? After thinking it over for a while I came to some conclusions:

- The CD doesn't project nearly the energy of the live performance. Yes, this can be a common malady, but it doesn't have to be, ( example - the Allman Brothers recorded some classic live concerts, but the studio versions of the songs hold their own).
- Skaggs and Hornsby have similar voices. Some individuality could have been achieved through a better recording mix.
- Most of the songs just aren't very strong, not particularly memorable.
- Hornsby's uniquely, instantly identifiable piano playing is sorely lacking. As I said earlier, kudos go out to the band and, of course, to the always find pickin' of Mr. Skaggs. However, Hornsby's deft touch on the ivories, while not completely missing, is not given the prominent role that it deserves. This was not the case with the live performance.

I do not mean to overly- disparage this work. I give it three stars. It's listenable, at times enjoyable, but just did not live up to my high expectations. It was a great idea and I hope they try it again. Maybe a live concert recording would better capture the chemistry that these two fine musicians can produce together.

Okay, I suppose you have to love bluegrass, but there it is, I do; I also happen to think I know good when I hear it, and this is. I got this CD at the final concert in the Skaggs/Hornsby tour, and the whole evening was colored by their happiness at being at a break and about to go home, but nothing could hide the fact that this is a consummate group of guys who work well together and grant each other space. The CD is a more disciplined rendition of that evening, and I loved every minute of it. Bruce's tunes, "Mandolin Rain" and "A Night On The Town", are redone and do not resemble the editions on their respective first albums, but I liked them both somewhat better. "Mandolin Rain" was offered up with a haunting, minor key that really set a different background on the song, and it sucked me right in. It's easy to see that these two masters were a perfect mesh; another reviewer remarked that Bruce's voice doesn't work as a bluegrass vehicle, but I beg to differ; I've never found anything to fault with Bruce, voice or instrumental. (The night of the concert, he and Ricky were magical; that reviewer might want to see them in concert sometime.) It's clear that Ricky is more or less running this production, which might be reasonable, as he is a registered legend amongst the bluegrass community, and even people who aren't able to pin down exactly where he fits in the music scene have heard of him...he's been around a long, long time. He is mostly known for mandolin, but trust me, he can play the strings off a fiddle also. Bruce plays excellent piano, offsetting Ricky's tunes well and adding just the right accent. I don't buy a lot of CDs, but I am very happy that I added this one to my library. And be warned...it's not all mountains and backwoods. They do a rendition of "Super Freak" that you won't believe.

More Bruce Hornsby's style than Ricky Skaggs's, this is a great album, well worth the purchase price just for three songs: the newly-stylized version of "Mandolin Rain" will break your heart; the Jazz-Bluegrass fusion and subtle lyrics of "Crown of Jewels" will have you listening again and again; and the super-fast hillbillyized version of "Super Freak!" will have you singing and dancing.

Hot piano and hot mandolin!

Strongly recommended for fans of either one of these great musicians.

I thought it would be tough for Bruce and Ricky to top "Darling Corey" from the Big Mon Album, but they've done it. This collaboration mixes some incredible vocal harmony, some instrumentals worthy of a jam band session, and a great mix of songwriting.

In particular, the remake of Mandolin Rain is amazing. The piano and the mandolin seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly on this track, and the melancholy melody gives it a much different feel from the original version.

These gentlemen are simply polished talent. This CD is fun and truley calms the savage beast. Our two dogs lay out, relax and listen to the perfect mesh of piano and strings. I first purchased a copy for my parents, and then a few days later bought one for myself. Enjoy!