Flatt & scruggs

**TNFrank** · May-09-2008, 6:42pm

Just picked it up at Wally-World and WOW, lots of good, ol' timey Bluegrass on this one. A single CD has 28 songs on it. I also picked up another "generic" Bluegrass CD set today with a lot of old standards on it, I'd like to learn a few so if I get to pick with some people I can at least fake my way thru a few of the older songs.

I'm really loving this Bluegrass deal after listening to Metal and Classic Rock for most of my life. It's kind of like a breath of fresh air for my soul.

**Rocky Top** · May-09-2008, 6:54pm

Can't beat ol' Les and Earl

**mandozilla** · May-09-2008, 9:20pm

That's a goodin' and I never tire of listening to it. I just picked up James King's "The Bluegrass Storyteller" and the new CD by "Longview" (Crowe, King, Rigsby, and Wilborn...great stuff!

**TNFrank** · May-10-2008, 8:53am

I'm trying to mix a bit of the old with some of the new to get a good overall feel for what's been done in Bluegrass.

**Chiledog** · May-16-2008, 6:32pm

I am right there with ya TNF...thanks for the tip, I'll be checkin' my local WW's to see what I can find. #I am with you, I love this BG thing it's "fresh" because it's down home. #It's real, no electronic gizmos...just people playin', that's the way it should be!

"Don't forget to turn off the light"

Todd

**TNFrank** · May-17-2008, 9:49am

I love the idea of not having to drag an amp and pedals around in order to play. Mandolins are so small and easy to carry that I can take it just about any place without much effort. I just need to find a few people to pick with.

**Chiledog** · May-25-2008, 7:42pm

I asked my girlfriend to keep an eye open at Wallyworld for the CD mentioned. #She picks up a "Flatt and Scruggs" CD. #I just got it this weekend. "Flatt AND Scruggs At Carnegie Hall!" #Recorded in '62. #There are no notes on who did the engineering, but in my humble opinion they did a great job of transferring this to disc. #BG is tough to record from an engineering point of view. #Top notch musicians playin' to the mic. #That's the part that makes it "easy" as far as recording goes. #I can't #comment on the performance, cause it sounds awesome to me, my first BG CD! #

#The cool thing was, we had "Heathens On The Patio". It ain't BG at all, but it's jammin on the porch! #I had a great time, and pics to prove it

#

#I got to jam on the mando...lol, me, 5 weeks into this instrument, and I jammed for over 5 hours! #I never took it off, it was a part of me.

#I am very thankful for the Cafe...this is home. #Thanks TNF for being a friend.

Peace,
All
todd

**Brandon Flynn** · May-25-2008, 8:01pm

Though Flatt & Scruggs have minimal mando on their records, I enjoy them more than Bill Monroe. I think Earl Scruggs may have been more innovative on Banjo than Big Mon on mandolin. I don't want to debate this, it's just my opinion. Flatt & Scruggs actually have some pretty good lyrics in a some of their songs, not just typical bluegrass lyrics that I can't relate to at all because I didn't grow in the hills of ol Virginny or something like that. Flatt & Scruggs are very cool.

**Mike Bunting** · May-25-2008, 11:06pm

Because of the lack of mando (on most recordings), the F & S stuff is great to play along with on the mando.

**allenhopkins** · May-25-2008, 11:27pm

Probably the most influential bluegrass band, as far as the general music-listening public goes; their Foggy Mountain Breakdown in the Bonnie & Clyde soundtrack, and their Beverly Hillbillies theme music, brought bluegrass sound to millions of people who never heard Bill Monroe, Reno & Smiley, the Osbornes, Jimmy Martin and the rest of the "first generation" bluegrass artists.

By the late '60's their Nashville producers were trying to direct their appeal to a perceived audience of college folk-music fans, resulting in some of their weaker efforts (Nashville Airplane et. al.) and probably in their eventual breakup. #But the Mercury cuts from the '50's, and the early '60's material such as At Carnegie Hall, Songs Of The Famous Carter Family, and Live At Vanderbilt are 'grass about as good as it gets.

Check out the recent DVD releases of their Martha White Flour TV shows, and you can get a feel of what they were like in live performance. #I never got to see Flatt & Scruggs live, though I did see Flatt with the Nashville Grass, and the Earl Scruggs Revue with Vassar Clements and Josh Graves. #Wish I had, though...