Bluegrass music recommendations

[Chiledog]

Ok folks, I have searched, and looked, and dug, and have found nothing.

I am brand new to Bluegrass music. #I would like to get some recommended CD titles to get a bluegrass collection going. #I would like to build a well rounded collection of the different styles of Bluegrass music, with different artists/instruments. #

I would also like to cover the "standards", if you will, so I can be familiar with them next time I head up to Pickin In The Park! #

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd

[EggerRidgeBoy]

Ok folks, I have searched, and looked, and dug, and have found nothing.

I am brand new to Bluegrass music. #I would like to get some recommended CD titles to get a bluegrass collection going. #I would like to build a well rounded collection of the different styles of Bluegrass music, with different artists/instruments. #

I would also like to cover the "standards", if you will, so I can be familiar with them next time I head up to Pickin In The Park! #

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd
A good way to get started building a CD collection in any genre is to buy a few good compilations, which allow you to get an overview of the different styles and artists without spending a lot. #A couple I'd recommend are Rounder's "Hand-Picked: 25 Years of Bluegrass" and Rhino's "Appalachian Stomp: Bluegrass Classics". #The only compilation that tries to comprehensively cover the entire 60-year history of bluegrass is "Can't You Hear Me Calling" from Sony, but it omits a great many key artists and bands. #Not that what is included isn't good music, but it just shouldn't be viewed as a complete overview of the genre.

If I were to recommend, say, twenty CDs to serve as an introduction to bluegrass, I'd probably list the following:


THE FOUNDERS. Bill Monroe, Flatt&Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers are often referred to as the “trinity“ that created bluegrass music in the late 40‘s and early 50‘s. Other artists, such as Jimmy Martin and Jim & Jesse, could probably also be put in that group. They defined the instrumental styles and wrote the songs that established the traditional bluegrass canon.

"All The Classic Releases, 1937-1949" - Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
"Off The Record, Volume One: Live Recordings 1956-1969" - Bill Monroe
"Live at Carnegie Hall" - Flatt & Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys
"The Complete Columbia Recordings" - The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys
"The King of Bluegrass" - Jimmy Martin


THE FOLK ERA. During the folk boom of the late 50’s and early 60’s, bluegrass music its audience expanded by attracting more northerners, city dwellers, college students, etc. This was largely due to bands such as the Country Gentlemen, who brought new songs into the bluegrass repetoire and appealed to younger fans with a more casual onstage attitude.

"On The Road (and More)" - The Country Gentlemen
"Livin' in the Past: Legendary Live Recordings" - The Kentucky Colonels


THE 1960’s. As the folk boom faded, and facing pressure from the British Invasion in pop music and the Nashville sound in Country music, some bluegrass bands experimented with drums, electric bass, electric guitar, etc., giving them a more mainstream country sound. On the other hand, the first outdoor bluegrass festival was held in 1965, helping to start a movement which would allow bluegrass music to survive and even thrive as a largely outside-the-mainstream musical community.

"Y'all Come: The Essential Jim & Jesse" - Jim & Jesse & The Virgina Boys
“The Essential Osborne Brothers Collections” - The Osborne Brothers
"Pioneering Women of Bluegrass" - Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard

[time for dinner - I'll have finish this later]

[Gutbucket]

Bela Fleck's "Drive" is a good one for newer original stuff. Any of the Bill Monroe or Flatt and Scruggs and Stanley Brothers Boxed sets out there will keep you busy listening for awhile. Good Luck and welcome to a great form of music. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Chiledog]

EggerRidgeBoy,
#I was thinking along the compilation route as well, but like with all Cd's you have some that are good and some that are not so good. (This is mostly from the engineering not the performance) #I understand that the early music was recorded using "primitive" recording technology, and I have no problem with that. #It's the integrity of the engineer that does the transfer from analog to digital that comes into play. #Thank you for all your recommendations, it's time to start searching!

Gutbucket,
#Thank you for your recommendations as well. #I had never seen bluegrass performed live until I went to Pickin' In The Park 2 weeks ago. #It does something to your blood. #I could distinguish the "slow jams" from the Bluegrass jams. #When a Bluegrass jam would fire up...awe jeeze...it just spoke to me deep in my soul. #Watching the musicians, and being able to see the "silent communication" that goes on between musicians was just awesome. #To be honest I have never seen such a "peaceful intensity" between players...mind you I come from a Rock and Blues back ground, and I am a drummer first, guitarist second...mando...well, I am learning and having fun!

Blessings,
Todd

[mandopete]

Sorry, they stopped making bluegrass recordings in 1962.

[sunburst]

Look at 3rd Time Out for new Bluegrass with a strong nod to tradition, also Blue Highway, and see if you can find a copy of Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz.

[EggerRidgeBoy]

EggerRidgeBoy,
#I was thinking along the compilation route as well, but like with all Cd's you have some that are good and some that are not so good. (This is mostly from the engineering not the performance) #I understand that the early music was recorded using "primitive" recording technology, and I have no problem with that. #It's the integrity of the engineer that does the transfer from analog to digital that comes into play. #Thank you for all your recommendations, it's time to start searching!

Blessings,
Todd

Yes, compiliations can be very hit or miss - more often miss, as there are a lot of cheap ones out there. #The ones mentioned above are very well done though.

Let's see, where was I before dinner? #Up to THE 1970's I think. #That was a decade of great creativity in bluegrass music. #Picking up where the classic Country Gentlemen left off, bands such as The Seldom Scene and The New South combined solid traditional skills with contemporary singer-songwriter influences to produce what came to be called "urban bluegrass" or "progressive bluegrss" that appealed to the increasingly urban bluegrass audience. New Grass Revival basically created the "newgrass" subgenre with their rock-inflected take on the music, while mainstream country and rock musicians turned to bluegrass and produced two albums which helped introduce an entire generation to bluegrass music.

"Live at the Cellar Door" - The Seldom Scene
"J.D. Crowe and The New South" (The 1975 album, often simply referred to as Rounder 0044)
"Grass Roots: The Best of New Grass Revival" - New Grass Revival
"Old & In The Way" - Old & In The Way
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken" - Various Artists


THE 1980’S. #A decade that saw both a continuation of the experimentation of the 1970’s with the continuing rise of “prefix-grass” - jazzgrass, jamgrass, chambergrass, etc. - and a renewed focus on the traditional side of the music with the popularity of such bands as The Bluegrass Album Band and the Johnson Mountain Boys.

"The Rounder Compact Disc" - David Grisman (actually from 1993, but the 1982 album I want to recommend isn't available on CD)
"Drive" - Bela Fleck
"The Bluegrass Compact Disc" - The Bluegrass Album Band (a compilation of material from their first four albums)
“Live at the Old Schoolhouse” - The Johnson Mountain Boys
"So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater" - Hot Rize (a 1996 ‘reunion’ concert)

[EggerRidgeBoy]

THE 1990's and BEYOND.

"Carrying the Tradition" - Lonesome River Band
"Momma's Hand" - Lynn Morris
"Del and The Boys" - The Del McCoury Band
"Live at the Charleston Music Hall" - Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
"Live" - Alison Krauss and Union Station
"Live at the Ragged Edge" - Tom Adams & Michael Cleveland
"Ragin' Live" - Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
"Fork in the Road" - The Infamous Stringdusters

[TNFrank]

For newer stuff Cherryholmes and Cadillac Sky are great.

[F5GRun]

John Hartford, Aereo-Plain one of the greatest albums ever. Kind of hard to find, but it will change your life...it did mine. Also pretty much anything else by Hartford is extraordinary. Enjoy!

And Hot Rize is awesome. Also if you can find the "Bluegrass Sessions" live at Strawberry Mtn. Festival that is killer too. I dont think that was "released" more of a bootleg.

[earthsave]

If you truly want Bluegrass Music, go to the Father of the Music... Bill Monroe. That is the best place to start. Get a feel for the sound... then venture out into other artists.

[Denny Gies]

Add consideration of the following to your thinking:
Bluegrass Reunion; David Grisman et.al.
The Folkway Years; Red Allen and Frank Wakefield
Snakes Alive; Dreadful Snakes
Nashville Bluegrass Band; anything they do
Have fun

[kyblue]

"Carrying the Tradition" - Lonesome River Band

Definitely a must have. And Sammy Shelor's solo CD 'Leading Roll' also.

[Chiledog]

EggerRidgeBoy,
#Wow, thanks for outlining the history/growth of the Bluegrass genera! #That's what I really needed, as well as the the recommended Artists and CD titles. #It's time to start doing some searching!

Scott, yeah I was thinking a Bill Monroe Boxed set would be the best place to start as well.

Thanks everybody for your input, this is more than enough to get me started!

Peace Always,
Todd

[Mike Bunting]

Sorry, they stopped making bluegrass recordings in 1962.

Now that's funny! I really love the old stuff too, although I am going to see Rhonda V. tomorrow night.

[mandopete]

I'm dead serious.

[CES]

While a lot of folks would argue the pros/cons of the bluegrass merits of Ricky Skaggs, he and Kentucky Thunder are one of the tightest groups out there today...one of my favorite "recent" albums is their 'Live at the Charleston Music Hall' album...solid, and they play at least 5 "classics." Some of their studio stuff is almost too clean, but this album, as well as the Three Pickers album (Skaggs with Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs, and also live are very good. Will the Circle Be Unbroken is also a more recent "classic."

To get a feel for the traditional side of things I'd agree that Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs are two great places to start, though there is truly a lot to choose from...you may try searching the archives for some of the "what's in your cd player now" threads...a lot of good stuff will pop up. Going to Elderly.com (or requesting their catalog) will also give you a good overview of lots of styles of acoustic music.

Have fun!

[Kbone]

For real traditional stuff, I'd say ( like others) Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury,Jimmy Martin, Stanley bros, then there's newgrass like Tony Rice Unit, Chris Thile, Sam Bush etc..

[LateBloomer]

Interesting - when I first started listening to Bluegrass, Bill Monroe was too much for me. Maybe my ears were too immature, or I couldn't listen as fast as he played...a little of him went a long way. Now I love him - maybe I'm ready for him now.

Still my favorite band is Dry Branch Fire Squad. Best to see them live - but their recordings are good too. Try "Memories that Bless and Burn", or the "30th Anniversary" compilation.

[Treblemaker]

I'll put out my vote for most anything with Tony Rice.

Manzanita (the crater this album left in my brain has yet to be filled with anything as good).
Tony Rice (Eponymous 1st LP)
Cold on the Shoulder

ALL KILLER - NO FILLER
Tony Rice Sings and Plays Bluegrass (tons of basic, killer bluegrass0
Church Street
Bluegrass Guitar Collection
Skaggs and Rice

Treblemaker
www.WorldWideTed.com

[SternART]

I'll second Tony Rice's Manzanita.....as well as Old and In The Way.....
with the likes of David Grisman, Vassar Clements, and of course Jerry Garcia...

[Greg H.]

I'll 3rd Manzanita, Bush's playing on that CD is some of the best BG mandolin I've ever heard (not counting Bill of course http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif). Also good additions are the 1975 JD Crowe and the New south CD (with JD, Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, and Bobby Slone on Bass. Also of note would be Boone Creek (Ricky Skaggs back before he was just trying to play Monroe licks). These are all 70's era CDs so they're not classic, but not new either.

Also Bluegrass Album Band Vol1=6. . ..Really good classic stuff.

[mandozilla]

Start with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys...everything else came after Bill...it will give you a solid foundation. Then branch out from there.

Also, attend BG festivals, concerts and jams. Bluegrass is an ensemble style of music...it's not enough to learn your instrument well, you need to understand how your part contributes to the ensemble sound...And
LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN...if you want to play Bluegrass Mandolin, you gotta know Bluegrass, IMHO.

[Lefty5]

Being a banjo picker, I can't help but recommend Flatt and Scruggs, Particularly the Foggy Mountain Banjo and the Carnegie Hall albums. That's as good as it gets.

Dillards
The Back Porch Bluegrass/ Live!!! Almost!!! double album is hard drivin traditional bluegrass with super clean pickin.

Bluegrass Album Band
Superstar pickers remaking the old classics. Lots to learn here too.

[lgc]

I'm biased but In think you should start with the early stuff first. I think it is important to have context for the later stuff. I'd recommend the Red Allen and Frank Wakefield stuff as well as Don Stover and the Lilly Brothers.

[Satchel]

Bluegrass Album Band

[Don Christy]

I would second all the Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, and Nashville Bluegrass Band and add:
- DGBX (Dave Grisman Bluegrass Experience)
- Compton and Long - Stomp (not really BG, but great blues inspired precursor to BG)
- Steve Earle with Del McCoury Band
Don

[Chiledog]

Wow folks! #Thanks for all the information, no doubt. #I have been doing a bunch of research on the mando as well as Bluegrass, so I am kinda "swimming" in it. #I will say this it is fascinating.

As I said earlier, the Pickin' In The Park in Fayetteville a couple of weeks ago really "cooked my blood". #I wish I could go back up next weekend but I just can't afford it right now.

The bottom line is, this isn't some passing fancy, I'm in for the long haul!

Blessings All!
Todd