Looking for a cautious bluegrass introduction

[pfv]

I grew up listening to rock and loathing country music. I have come to enjoy bluegrass, but typically the instrumental variety, as some of the high harmony grates on my nerves.

I've been listening to and playing mandolin for quite some time, but only seriously in the last five years, and my tastes have ranged more in the new acoustic rather than bluegrass.

I have the Tony Rice Bluegrass guitar collection, which I play frequently. Where do I turn next for bluegrass that I would enjoy without being jarred by too much singing?

Thanks!

[fishdawg40]

I have similar issues with bluegrass as well. I'd go with some Old and In the Way. Which was comprised of Peter Rowan, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Vassar Clements, and John Kahn (in case you didn't know). They do sing but it does not get under my skin as much as others. It's not that high and I love Rowan's voice. Also, it is a lot looser than most other bluegrass bands. The instumentals are top notch and again not so constricted (many have issues with Garcia's banjo picking but it's fine by me).

[TeleMark]

I share some of your reluctance to listen to some of the BG out there due to occasional cringe-worthy (to me, anyway) vocals. That's one of the issues I have with the Bluegrass Junction channel on XM... they tend to be more heavily weighted towards country BG.

Try some stuff like:

Bela Fleck - Drive
Bela Fleck - The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet
JD Crowe and New South
Jerry Douglas
Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart

Go to www.archive.org and download stuff from

Yonder Mountain String Band
Railroad Earth
Hot Buttered Rum String Band

[Nolan]

Alison Krauss - Every time You Say Goodbeye, Two Highways, So Long So Wrong.

[mandofiddle]

Hmmm. You could listen to Mountain Heart, as they seem to be a little more rockin', but they do have the southern twang in their voice so you may not like. A friend of mine doesn't like them because he thinks they are too country. I disagree however. Sam Bush Band is a good one. As is Blue Highway. Get Tony Rice's "Manzanita". A good thing to do that can get you started too is to go onto iTunes Music Store's bluegrass section and just started "previewing" some tunes. You get to hear 30 seconds of each tune, and that'll give you a pretty good idea.

[jim simpson]

Bluegrass Album Band (any of them) and Old and In The Way

[SternART]

Mandofiddle mentioned Tony Rice's Manzanita. Buy it, it is a classic...... you won't regret the purchase!

[Tim]

Good bluegrass without the twang. Almost any Seldom Scene or Country Gentlemen recording.

[EggerRidgeBoy]

Since you like the Tony Rice collection, you might want to see where he came from by listening to:
Doc Watson, "Foundation: The Doc Watson Guitar Instrumental Collection"
Clarence White, "33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals"

And to see where his influence has led:
James Alan Shelton, "Half Moon Bay"
David Grier, "I've Got the House to Myself"
Bryan Sutton, "Not Too Far From the Tree"

Some other all (or close to it) instrumental bluegrass/newgrass albums I would recommend (trying to cover traditional to contemporary styles, and to give a nod to each instrument):

Flatt & Scruggs w/ Doc Watson, "Strictly Instrumental"
Reno & Smiley, "Strictly Instrumental"
Bluegrass Album Band, "Volume 6"
Strength in Numbers, "The Telluride Sessions"

Kenny Baker, "Master Fiddler"
Aubrey Haynie, "The Bluegrass Fiddle Album"
Casey Driessen, "3-D"

Flatt & Scruggs,"Foggy Mountain Banjo"
Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland, "Live at the Ragged Edge"
Bela Fleck, "Drive" and "Double Time"

Mike Compton and David Long, "Stomp"
Jesse McReynolds and Travis Wetzel, "Bending the Rules"
David Grisman and Sam Bush, "Hold On, We're Strummin' "

Josh Graves, "Memories of Foggy Mountain"
Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Russ Barenberg, "Skip, Hop, and Wobble"
Phil Leadbetter, "Slide Effects"

Ricky Skaggs just released an instrumental album, but I haven't heard it yet.


As for "smoother" vocals, that was one of the hallmarks of the progessive bluegrass movement of the 1970's (and beyond). #Check out:

The Seldom Scene, "Live at the Cellar Door"
The Country Gentlemen, "The Complete Vanguard Recordings"
"J.D. Crowe & the New South" (Rounder 0044)
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, "The Original Band"
Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice, "Skaggs & Rice"

[adgefan]

Have you discovered John Hartford yet? Definitely bluegrass-influenced but with a certain sophistication that took the music in new directions. He played all sorts of different music throughout his life, and so far I haven't found anything I don't like.

Try going to www.bluegrassbox.com - if you can work out how to use it, it has hundreds of free downloads from all sorts of bluegrass artists. It also has "radio stations" where you can listen to shows without going through the hassle of downloading them yourself. It's a brilliant way to try stuff out to see if you like it.

[dang]

I'll second the John Hartford reccomendation. If there is a way for you to get a hold of Aereoplain, you will love it!! (except maybe track 4...)

I would also second Drive by Bela Fleck, simply amazing!
I would also second Manzanita -- a must have!

The Hot Buttered Rum String Band is, in my opinion, a really refreshing take on bluegrass, and though not the most traditional, the vocals are not nasaly and they sound really good. "In these parts" is great.

If you are not firmiliar with Tim Obrien, all of the Hot Rize stuff is good, very approachable for non-bluegrassers.

How about the Doc Watson Guitar collection? I put it in regular rotation with the Tony Rice cd you mentioned.

[glauber]

Hartford, definitely. Here's some free Hartford MP3s from Amazon to get you started.

Paradoxically, i really think you should check out some Bill Monroe. Get one of his instrumental albums if you can't like the singing style. Bluegrass really /is/ Bill Monroe.

[glauber]

Bill Monroe Anthology. Good price for a double CD. Lots and lots of good music. Half of the tracks are instrumental, half are sung. Skip the ones you don't like.

[picksnbits]

I'm gonna suggest a different approach. Get you some Del McCoury Band to listen to. He's about as high and twangy as it comes, but he's so cool you'll have to like it and Ronnie's mandolin playin will keep you listening long enough to grow to love Del's vocals. There is good high and twangy.

[glauber]

Andy Carlson Band: Log-a-rhythm: one of my favourite bluegrass albums.

[Garrett]

The McCouries are a really good suggestion. Real hardcore bluegrass but accessible.
John Hartford was a genius, and a good entryway to bluegrass for rock fans. Good Ole Boys might be a good place to start, and the song Cross Eyed Child will make you want to listen to Bill Monroe.

[Garrett]

BTW (and unrelated) the new Will Ferrell #movie Talladega Nights -- very, very funny -- begins with Roger Miller singing King of the Road and ends with a cover of John Hartford's Gentle on My Mind. I was glad that a little of the summer blockbuster money was going to the families of two of the alltime greatest American songwriters. Miller and Hartford are very similar actually, not their songs per se, but their unique, nonconformist attitudes and their love of Americana.

[pfv]

Thanks for all the replies--I see some good ideas to start. I have a few of these that I didn't qualify as bluegrass per se (Strength in Numbers, for example). I'm not a huge fan of Allison Krauss, though I can appreciate her (and certainly her band!).

Glauber: thanks for the heads up about the amazon downloads. I had no idea that they did that--I spent the next half hour downloading songs.

Is there a good Monroe instrumental collection?

[Garrett]

Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe is a great starting point.

[Christopher Howard-Williams]

The Bluegrass series is a good instrumental collection. Started with Bluegrass 95 (I think) and went through with one a year until Bluegrass 2000 (I think).
All instrumental, all good. From old fiddle tunes through Monroe classics up to some modern gems. Scott Vestal on banjo I believe was the driving force and all musicians are out of the top drawer of contemporary bluegrass music.

[Clyde Clevenger]

I always start out new folks to Bluegrass with old Seldom Scene then move on to The Bluegrass Album Band CDs, all good and very palitable for the un-intiated. I'd hold off a while on the Joe Val, my favorite singer BTW. An acquired taste, some say.

[250sc]

Check out David Peters, Art In America. Anything by Grisman.

[glauber]

Glauber: thanks for the heads up about the amazon downloads. I had no idea that they did that--I spent the next half hour downloading songs.

Is there a good Monroe instrumental collection?

There was another thread about the downloads a couple of months ago. I found them by accident. There is a lot of Alison Krause, and much other good stuff too. If you could find that thread, someone posted all the links there.

Sorry for taking so long to respond. I'm not the most knowlegeable person on Bill Monroe. There was a very good instrumental album called Master of Bluegrass, but it's never been issued as CD. You might find the LP in the vintage LP stores, or find someone who has it and wouldn't mind burning you a copy.

My recommendation would still be to buy the Anthology and listen to the instrumental tracks there.

[glauber]

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/BILL-MONROE-Master-of-Bluegrass-LP_W0QQitemZ250016999979QQihZ015QQcategoryZ306QQss PageName
ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">Master of Bluegrass</a> on eBay.