I know everyone is “into” Bill Frisell because he puts out these oh-so-cool “roots” releases that take you to the back roads of Tennessee, but for my money, I want the real thing, and this disc rye’chere is about as bona fide as yer gonna git! A bunch of pickers and grinners like Tom Adams/banjo, Dan Tyminski/mand, Ron Stewart/fiddle, JD Crowe/banjo, Ron Block/banjo and David Talbot/banjo got together to give a rollicking tip of the cap to one of the true masters, Earl Scruggs. This collection of material that was either composed by or made famous due to it touching the hands of Lester Flatt’s long time buddy was recorded over a number of years, and from the opening bent strings on “Flint Hill it Special” to the closing steeple chase of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” you’ll be on a Class IV whitewater river rafting trip on the Ocoee River.
You’ve got some hot 3 finger picking by Jim Mills on “Reuben” as well as some moaning fiddle work by Stewart on “Randy Lynn Rag” and “Foggy Mountain Special.” A Bob Dylan tune “Nashville Skyline Rag” was made famous on the iconic 1969 album, and it sounds timelessly glorious here with some nice mandolin picking with Adam Steffey. The thing that makes this collection so enticing is that, like true pros, these guys make it sound so easy, and for anyone that’s ever tried sitting down with one of them thar instruments, you know that this is about as easy as doing “Giant Steps” on a kazoo.
Rounder Records
www.rounder.com