Lookout for Hope

Jerry Douglas

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 7, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B000065CHD
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,531 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jerry Douglas, who's most often heard adding lustrous Dobro lines to Alison Krauss's Union Station and umpteen country and pop records, uses his periodic solo albums to stretch the stylistic boundaries of steel strings and a slide bar. Lookout for Hope begins on a sweetly familiar note with a multitracked Dobro arrangement of Duane Allman's ever-popular "Little Martha," then ventures toward bluegrass, bebop, and points between and beyond. On many tracks, drums and even a dash of saxophone enhance the core acoustic string sounds, and low-key vocal cameos from Maura O'Connell ("Footsteps Fall") and James Taylor ("The Suit") offer a nice changeup from the high-powered instrumental action. Most intriguing is the title track (written by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell), in which the interlocking mandolin chops of Sam Bush and Nickel Creek's Chris Thile create a hypnotic groove that Douglas, guitarist Bryan Sutton, and Phish's Trey Anastasio ride into a 10-minute space jam. --Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dobro's not supposed to be able to do THIS, October 1, 2002

By	GBS "showbiz27" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

A point of reference: I play dobro.

Or...at least I THOUGHT I could.

This album features a style and expertise I'd have to best classify as "impossible". Jerry Douglas uses his abilities in genres beyond the traditional bluegrass places - he explores blues, jazz, free-form, ballads...and it ALL works.

Is it incoherent as another reviewer said? Perhaps. But expecting a straight "coherent artistic statement" from an outside-the-box virtuoso like Jerry Douglas is to handcuff him.

This album shows that the expressive instrument that is the dobro isn't relegated only to the hills and mountains, but can take its place with a wide-range of genres. Let me tell you something - as a dobro player, I learned more about the instrument in this disc than I have in 20 prior years.

This is not just brilliant work, but marvelously entertaining and thrilling to the ears. The song selection is delightful, and the inclusion of the guest vocalists (particularly James Taylor on the mournful "The Suit") is an added treat. What's really going to make your ears perk up are the incredible sonics. Rarely have acoustic instruments been recorded this well. The guitars are like chimes, the bass tight and warm. Whatever playback system you use will sound all the better for it.

Sample it, seek it out, but this is guitar playing like few can - or ever have - done.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superlative effort from a Dobro virtuoso., November 18, 2004

By	Robert H. Sanborn (Port St. Lucie, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Perhaps Jerry Douglas is best reviewed by someone who plays the Dobro rather than relying on the opinion of those who relegate the instrument to providing backup for a singer. This offering showcases Jerry's prodigious abilities on everything from traditional to jazz with a little Eastern flavor to season the mix. With the James Taylor rendered closing song, "The Suit", being one of my favorite. This is probably not a CD for everyone, most certainly not for someone who doesn't appreciate the sound of the lap-style resonator guitar. Those of us who have a genuine interest in this genre will be more than satisfied.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cool, August 27, 2002

By	John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Silver Lake, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

You probably already know who Jerry "Flux" Douglas is if you're looking at this page. If so, all you need to know is that this is a very cool CD.

Not only is Douglas himself in fine form, but there are a few special treats throughout. For example: Sam Bush is here, and on one song he and Chris Thile operate a pair of mandolins while Trey Anastasio accompanies on guitar. (Hey, how come almost nobody asks Sam to play the fiddle anymore?) Then, too, Maura O'Connell and James Taylor each provide a vocal track. And the opening track is a "dobrized" version of an old Duane Allman tune. (Douglas wrote the majority of the rest -- six of the eleven tracks.)

Beyond that, there's not much that reviewers need to say. It's _Jerry Douglas_, man.

If you haven't heard of Douglas before -- well, you only _think_ you haven't; it's almost impossible that you should have lived through the last twenty-odd years without ever having heard him play. The guy is everywhere. He's a virtuoso on the resophonic guitar and he's singlehandedly (well, twohandedly) extended its musical horizons by too many miles to count. He's played with everybody from Dan Fogelberg to Alison Krauss. If you've heard a Dobro guitar within the last couple of decades, the odds are better than 50-50 that it was him.

Anyway, a _very_ cool CD. Don't hesitate to add it to your collection.