kmiller1610
Jun-12-2013, 3:41pm
This is a fairly simple, broad appreciation of the 4 disk MCA release "The Music of Bill Monroe from 1956 to 1994." This is not a critical review and I will not be criticizing Bill's music AT ALL. I will be taking a few shots at some of the criticisms I have heard of the music I have come to love. I think there is a LOT of common ground. So this is basically a compare and contrast without content criticism.
First of all, I have been here for a number of years. I am not a player, but I have tried to do a few thought provoking threads. This community has opened many doors to a fan of the Mandolin: Grisman, Reichman and many others. I had certainly heard Monroe before my friend loaned me this collection, but this was my first real immersion.
The collection includes a lengthy historical overview booklet and the following disks.
1) 1936 to 1952
2) 1952 to 1959
3) 1958 to 1969
4) 1970 to 1994
Here are my observations.
Disks 1 and 4 include a lot of Gospel Music and the vocal styles remind me of Gospel Quartets at times. This is quite different than progressive acoustic. For example, some of Thile's music challenges the almighty, though some are deeply rooted in faith. I really enjoyed these cuts. It's a nice reminder that Gospel used to be more mainstream.
Disks 1 and 4 include more unison singing, frequently "high lonesome" bluegrass style. In fact, in the early period, Bill didn't sing solo nearly as much as during the two middle eras.
Having Fun: Especially in the early period, Bill and his boys had a lot of fun with their music. The song about the pines (disk one) has background singers doing sound effects of winds blowing. Some of the falsetto singing is exaggerated and done for affect. This kind of casual play runs in the face of the emphasis of some fans on Monroe as the developer of an art form that shouldn't be touched.
Speed: Bill could rip that thang. I know that isn't news to anyone here, but on disk one, there is some of the fastest playing mandolin I have ever heard. He could still rip it even during the last era. But during that first period, he seemed to be playing as fast as possible. And given that some of the recordings are live and include audience reactions, it is apparent that people liked fast, even then. Now, I realize that the sound is different between one style sounding like a machine gun and the other sounding like Monroe. But fast is fast.
Shimmer. It's not a technical term, but it struck me as the basic effect of Monroe's music. Unison falsetto. Double Violins. And that sound of Bill ripping it on the Mandolin. Even the early recordings, where the fidelity is sometimes lacking, the music shines and glows.
I really enjoyed this collection.
Are there any other anthologies that cover Bill's whole career? I am going to need to buy one.
First of all, I have been here for a number of years. I am not a player, but I have tried to do a few thought provoking threads. This community has opened many doors to a fan of the Mandolin: Grisman, Reichman and many others. I had certainly heard Monroe before my friend loaned me this collection, but this was my first real immersion.
The collection includes a lengthy historical overview booklet and the following disks.
1) 1936 to 1952
2) 1952 to 1959
3) 1958 to 1969
4) 1970 to 1994
Here are my observations.
Disks 1 and 4 include a lot of Gospel Music and the vocal styles remind me of Gospel Quartets at times. This is quite different than progressive acoustic. For example, some of Thile's music challenges the almighty, though some are deeply rooted in faith. I really enjoyed these cuts. It's a nice reminder that Gospel used to be more mainstream.
Disks 1 and 4 include more unison singing, frequently "high lonesome" bluegrass style. In fact, in the early period, Bill didn't sing solo nearly as much as during the two middle eras.
Having Fun: Especially in the early period, Bill and his boys had a lot of fun with their music. The song about the pines (disk one) has background singers doing sound effects of winds blowing. Some of the falsetto singing is exaggerated and done for affect. This kind of casual play runs in the face of the emphasis of some fans on Monroe as the developer of an art form that shouldn't be touched.
Speed: Bill could rip that thang. I know that isn't news to anyone here, but on disk one, there is some of the fastest playing mandolin I have ever heard. He could still rip it even during the last era. But during that first period, he seemed to be playing as fast as possible. And given that some of the recordings are live and include audience reactions, it is apparent that people liked fast, even then. Now, I realize that the sound is different between one style sounding like a machine gun and the other sounding like Monroe. But fast is fast.
Shimmer. It's not a technical term, but it struck me as the basic effect of Monroe's music. Unison falsetto. Double Violins. And that sound of Bill ripping it on the Mandolin. Even the early recordings, where the fidelity is sometimes lacking, the music shines and glows.
I really enjoyed this collection.
Are there any other anthologies that cover Bill's whole career? I am going to need to buy one.