Chris Thile does Bill Monroe

[Delaware]

Don't know if this has been posted but its great

[Delaware]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STAPnpQjQlA


Link not working. Try this

[Franc Homier Lieu]

[Lord of the Badgers]

awesome thank you for posting this

[JeffD]

I love this stuff.

[Lord of the Badgers]

My first "proper" (humour me!) bluegrass moment (being a massive late comer to say the least) was Hot Rize here in the UK at a folk festival we played at. Not least because I'd unintentionally ended up in the canteen earlier having food with the Wernicks, but because no music has made me grin from ear to ear as much as that did. Joyous doesn't even cover it.

God I'd love to really see CT do this kind of thing. Curse my being in the UK!

[DataNick]

Thile & company did a really nice job on that!

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Badger - "God I'd love to really see CT do this kind of thing....". All too seldom these days it would seem. Here's my personal favourite version of that song - Flatt & Scruggs (pre-Dobro) & a tad less 'frantic'. Earl sounds way more confident in his pickin' - totally ''Classic'' Bluegrass, Ivan

[Willie Poole]

I agree with Ivan 100%, some songs loose a lot when played too fast and for me that speed that Flatt and Scruggs did it was much better....Curley Seckler also is a great tenor singer, I like his tenor much better than Monroe`s but that is just what I like...YMMV of course...

I lke Thile`s version also but I can`t tell what he is picking when he takes a mandolin break, too many notes in a short time...Not traditional bluegrass and that is what he was trying duplicate wasn`t it?...From the response of the audience it seems that is the direction that bluegrass is heading...

Willie

[Franc Homier Lieu]

too many notes

As requested....

[FLATROCK HILL]

Regardless of how many extra note Chris may have thrown into that break, I applaud his (their) decision to showcase this music. Lots of energy there and a great job by all of them.

The guy sitting at the Hammond looks almost thrilled to death!

[DataNick]

I agree with Ivan 100%, some songs loose a lot when played too fast and for me that speed that Flatt and Scruggs did it was much better....Curley Seckler also is a great tenor singer, I like his tenor much better than Monroe`s but that is just what I like...YMMV of course...

I lke Thile`s version also but I can`t tell what he is picking when he takes a mandolin break, too many notes in a short time...Not traditional bluegrass and that is what he was trying duplicate wasn`t it?...From the response of the audience it seems that is the direction that bluegrass is heading...

Willie

Did anybody listen to the original Monroe version that is linked in post#5?

Same frantic pace, same incredible speed and amount of notes as the Thile version...methinks that thou dost protest and makest much ado about nothing here, but just plain ole bias against Thile...

Carry On...

[AlanN]

You got it, man. Actually, the BG Boys version is faster, I do believe.

[onassis]

Precisely. It's Bill's exact break.

[Drew Streip]

Pretty sure CT was emulating the "just on the edge of out of control" sound, because you know that he can play more notes -- cleaner -- than anybody else on the planet. But he chose to stick to a pretty standard, chord and melody-based break instead of his typical harmonic sideslipping. Some people can't catch a break, huh? (pun highly intended)

[FLATROCK HILL]

Pretty sure CT was emulating the "just on the edge of out of control" sound, because you know that he can play more notes -- cleaner -- than anybody else on the planet. But he chose to stick to a pretty standard, chord and melody-based break instead of his typical harmonic sideslipping.

I've always considered Bill's break in this song to be an example of him breaking his own rule. I love it. Its a pretty frenzied, wild run of notes but I really don't hear much melody in it. Maybe that's why C.T. chose this one.

[Drew Streip]

Good point. I should have said more arpeggio-based -- granted, very fast -- but still within the bounds of bluegrass harmonies. Follows the three major chords, nothing really outside those harmonies, just scale patterns and a turnaround at the end.

The whole song goes by so fast though, it totally fits the characteristic of the performance. It could have been an early attempt (it's 1946, after all) at improvising and later in his career, started to stick more to the melodic ideas. He might have just gotten carried away. (Who hasn't?)

I also think, though, that the sound is still what a lot of people think of when they imagine "bluegrass" -- it takes a refined ear to noticed how much a solo is based on the melody, how much is ornamentation, and which classic players tended to take which approach. So the Ryman audience at that show (I was there) definitely wasn't scrutinizing CT's note choice. I mean, he said it was their take on a classic. If he'd said that, and then played an Eddie Van Halen lick over the break, probably only 10 people would have caught it.

[Timbofood]

Bill didn't have no TelePrompTer!
Yes the verge of being out of control is quite Monroesque, I don't think it's "exactly how Bill played it" but, the dynamic is there.
Sorry guys I'm just not a member of the Thile church entirely. One mans opinion. Glad he has kept the show and his career going, good for him.

[T.D.Nydn]

I think Thile did a great job,a ltitle more comprehensive then Bills soloing,which is borderline maniacal,but I love it,,totally blazing,,,

[FLATROCK HILL]

Bill didn't have no TelePrompTer!
Yes the verge of being out of control is quite Monroesque, I don't think it's "exactly how Bill played it" but, the dynamic is there.
Sorry guys I'm just not a member of the Thile church entirely....

That's kinda the whole point for me Timothy. I'm not a card carrying member of that church either. But...when the leaders of that congregation take the initiative to have an 'all day Sunday singin' and dinner on the ground'...I'm in!

[John Hill]

C'mon now. That break by Bill in the first video is blazing fast and as full of notes as Chris' version...it's no different. If Compton played it like that it'd be hailed as genius rather than the typical "that ain't how bill played it". It's exactly how Bill played it.

[9lbShellhamer]

The CT version above is about 170/340 on the metronome.

The Bill Monroe version above is about 185/370 on the metronome.

I think Chris did an awesome job. Gorgeous rendition.

[John Adrihan]

The CT version above is about 170/340 on the metronome.

The Bill Monroe version above is about 185/370 on the metronome.

I think Chris did an awesome job. Gorgeous rendition.

Bluegrass Boys = better. All boys. Thile's banjo player I bet is a monster though. played that song like nothing.

Thile is genius no doubt. just different. and that is ok. Just not pure. no big deal.

[sgarrity]

I worship at the church of Monroe AND Thile.....So there!

I try to play like Monroe because a tiny part of his music is within my grasp. I love to listen to Thile for his imagination, virtuosity, and humor he injects into his music. They are both mandolin geniuses of their time and are worthy of our study, appreciation, and respect! Play on....

[f5joe]

Thile's banjo player I bet is a monster though. played that song like nothing.

Yes, the banjo player, Noah Pikelny is a monster. Check out his CD Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe.