After taking in this two disc, 56 song anthology of guitarist/vocalist Lester Flatt and banjoist Earl Scruggs, you’ll be convinced that most of the rejection of jazzers of bluegrass is more of a cultural than musical thing. These two alumni of Bill Monroe’s groundbreaking bluegrass band played on a scale of Charlie Christian and Les Paul, only overlooked as they performed on the white side of the train tracks. You’ve all heard the famous “Ballad of Jed Clampett” from the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies, but there’s more to their talents than the theme of a 60s TV comedy.
Along with the Foggy Mountain Boys that included fiddler Paul Warren and mandolin man Curly Seckler, Flatt and Scruggs picked and grinned through popular tunes like “’Tis Sweet to Be Remembered”, “Cabin In The Hills” and “Go Home”. Beyond the C&W hits, there are timeless treasures and mind boggling pickings as on “Old Salty Dog Blues”, “Foggy Mountain Special” and the off-to-the-races “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”. This is material that is just as hot as anything by beboppers at the time, and as far as blues wailing goes, just check out the agony of “Lonesome Road Blues” and “Doin’ My Time”. So much for White Privilege!
If you’re still looking down your nose at bluegrass and country just because of a few bad jokes by Buddy Rich, open your ears a bit and appreciate these swingers from the Cumberland Gap.