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Can't have country without bluegrass. It's like everything else, but faster! There are a lot of bluegrass standards; here are some great starter songs that were/are widely known. Earl Scruggs (mostly instrumental) Foggy Mountain Breakdown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJOIqmlI65Y Cripple Creek - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4sqishGuYw Bill Monroe (played with Earl Scruggs and has an amazingly high-pitched voice) Blue Moon of Kentucky - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37bLLhYkrL4 Ralph Stanley - Came up opposite Scruggs with a very similar but distinct style of playing the banjo, and is responsible for some of the music in "O Brother Where Art Thou," if that's your kind of thing. Man Of Constant Sorrow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mndlk0qbIbE Pretty Polly (trad.) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXJALGoEg7g John Hartford - Is responsible for a sort of bluegrass revival ("Newgrass") in the 70s and wrote some quirky, weird, funny songs. "Aereo-plain" is a phenomenal album to start with. His life was divided between being a performing musician and a steamboat tour operator on the Mississippi River. What a hero! Steam Powered Aereoplane - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV7ZTwqC8ZI Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aXZmbbPLaM Tangentially to bluegrass: if you are fascinated by the history of American Folk music, I can't recommend the Alan Lomax tapes enough. He did a few trips through the southern U.S. with a portable reel-to-reel in the late 50s that are now called the Southern Journey (among many other trips around the U.S. and the world) and captured tons of music that had never seen a wide audience and probably wouldn't have been committed to tape without his efforts. Most of this stuff is available now via large compilations, but Mississippi Records puts out a few very nice smaller comps on vinyl. "Sacred Harp" singing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_harp Hallelujah #146 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m34OaYzG9NE Fred McDowell was discovered by Lomax and later gained a fair amount fame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhreFA8qoLY
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Dec 27, 2013 06:53
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Texibus posted:Anyone got some good recommendations for getting started in Bluegrass? Other than Bill Monroe. Don't not give John Hartford a good listen. The earlier stuff is hit or miss, but his most well-known record (and solid from front to back with the exception of the a capella track "Boogie") is probably Aereo Plain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKHx6YHLoZk He is not strictly bluegrass, but I think of anyone I've heard he approaches bluegrass with some of the best songwriting chops out there. Also he was a total stoner and weirdo (which informs a lot of his songwriting) who retired from music to drive steamboats on the Mississippi River and play music for folks out on the deck. How cool is that? Flatt & Scruggs will always be number one in my book for straight bluegrass, but even they can start to sound same-y after only a few tracks, especially if you're new to bluegrass. Another great Hartford record is Gum Tree Canoe; later in his career, feeling comfortable, mostly covers but played with such an original voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hqmxmq-iY4 1000 umbrellas fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Jun 5, 2015 |
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Jun 5, 2015 07:04
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"Get high/play a little Goldeneye/on that ol' 64" is the foundation for a new American poetry. The last track is a sizzler, there are dashes of elegant moments throughout, the lyrics mostly leave me wanting more. They sound very personal, but they don't really seem to transcend the mundanity of most personal thoughts/feelings. The emphasis on horn arrangements strikes me as very adventurous musically, but I'm not sure that Sturgill is best suited to that kind of production.
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Apr 13, 2016 16:27
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Erostratus posted:Just a good oldie: Hang in at least until he starts tap-dancing; a legendary dude. The second track in the video simply rips if you're into banjo stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCVQ3w3sKxA
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May 1, 2017 00:51
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