What's your favorite album to play along with?

[9lbShellhamer]

Favorite album to play along with to practice taking breaks, etc.

What is it?

[Kirk Pey]

My favorite is Kenny Baker plays Bill Monroe.I enjoy every tune on it.

[Denny Gies]

My favorite is "Snakes Alive" by the Dreadful Snakes.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Far too many for me to list here. Blue Highway - ''Marbletown'' / Balsam Range - ''Last Train to Kitty Hawk'' / Ricky Skaggs - ''Instrumentals'' / Kenny & Amanda Smith - ''House Down The Block''/ Del McCoury - ''The Cold,Hard Facts'' & many others. My personal criteria is that the tunes have a good melody line that i can stick to, & not too fast so that i can weave my 'own bits' into it without falling off the fingerboard. I use I/net radio a lot as well. It's rather like a prolonged jam session,you never know what's coming up next,
Ivan

[zedmando]

On guitar I sued to jam along with Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Re-act-or.
I haven't found that album for mandolin yet.

[zedmando]

I used to jam...

No legal action was required...

[Mike Black]

Norman Blake's - Original Underground Music from the Mysterious South

[Robert Smyth]

As above, Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, any Del McCoury Band album, and of course, the Old & In The Way Boardhouse recordings from October 1973.

[mandrian]

Norman Blake's - Original Underground Music from the Mysterious South

Mike,

Funny that you nominated that album. I love it too and have the album cover framed and on the wall. I would nominate it as the best album cover ever!

Still loving the A5 you made for me.

Best Regards

[David Smith]

Adam Steffey's "New Primitive", John Reischman's "Walk Along John", Mark Johnson and Emory Lester "1863", anything by Grisman and Garcia, Don Steirnberg "Swing 220"....the list goes on.

[Alex Orr]

Anything by the Bluegrass Album Band, though I usually run it through Transcribe so I can slow the songs down just a bit. There's no way I could play along with a lot of the full-speed album versions.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Although i don't have any of their CD's,i do have a few ''Infamous Stringdusters'' & ''Greensky Bluegrass'' MP4's on my PC. I'm pushing myself to keep up with the almost 'broken tempos' on some of the songs,but it's terrific music IMO,
Ivan
https://youtu.be/7OXSjOYzATU The video clips still won't post - only the URL ?????.
https://youtu.be/roObnu-UIo8

[UsuallyPickin]

Well .... I prefer to play along with either a Bluegrass radio station or site. I never know who or what key will pop up next. Keeps my brain and fingers hopping. If I have to say a single recording or group I'd lean toward The Bluegrass Album band recordings. Classic songs and tunes with "A" list players all. I also have a special place in my ear for Manzanita.......... excellent work all around.. R/

[Steve Ostrander]

Songs of Bill Monroe--Various Artists

[Ivan Kelsall]

I did & still do exactly what UsuallyPickin'says,& use I/net radio stations as a source of 'jam-along' music,for exactly the reasons he states. In fact that's how i've taught myself to play mandolin. As a long time 'ear player' on banjo,i had a bit of a head start because i can 'listen fast' & pick up the melody line of a tune pretty easily ''most of the time'',but you've still got to learn where the 'sounds' are on the fingerboard. That's what i looked for,the 'sounds' & where i could find them on the fingerboard, naming the sounds as 'notes' followed. It took a while,but it's payed off in spades !,
Ivan

[Mike Trent]

I like Blue Highway’s lonesome Pine and Marble Town. I have a lot of Allison Krauss from pretty far back. Some of her music has a lot of chords so it keeps me moving and listening at the same time. I think my favorite of hers is Every Time You Say Goodbye.

[Charles E.]

'Take Two' by the Mando Mafia out of Charlottesville VA.