Slow Train through Georgia
Artist: Norman Blake

Slow Train Through Georgia collects 22 tracks from Norman Blake's early '70s albums, making it an excellent retrospective of the beginning of his solo career. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide Read More

The Early Rebel Recordings 1962-1971
Artist: The Country Gentlemen

This is an especially pleasing four-CD set, comprising most of the Country Gentlemen's recordings for the Rebel label over a period of nine years, when they used bluegrass music as a vehicle for innovation by way of country, folk, and rock. The influence of the Osborne Brothers can be heard throughout their early work (along with more mainstream... Read More

The Norman & Nancy Blake Compact Disc
Artist: Norman Blake

Norman & Nancy Blake Compact Disc combines Norman's Lighthouse on the Shore and Nancy's Grand Junction on one 21-track compact disc, offering neophytes a good introduction the duo's distinctive style of acoustic country and bluegrass. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide Read More

Kentucky Colonels
Artist: The Kentucky Colonels
Community Score: 10.00

This is an expanded version of the group's debut album, Appalachian Swing, originally issued in England in this form after Clarence White's death in 1973 and reissued over there in 1997 by the Beat Goes On label. The original 12-song album (which was also available here as a ten-song LP at one point late in the 1970s) is here, newly remastered,... Read More

Traitor in Our Midst/Don't Give Up Your Day Job
Artist: The Country Gazette

The first two studio albums by pioneering bluegrass band Country Gazette (originally released by Liberty in the early '70s) were combined by BGO in the U.K. in the '90s. This is a great way to pick up these fine releases by one of the bands who helped inspire the newgrass movement. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide Read More

Long Journey Home
Artist: The Kentucky Colonels

The Kentucky Colonels are heard at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival on this Vanguard CD. A quartet at the time, as fiddler Scotty Stoneman had not yet joined the band, their performances include both instrumentals and vocals, with bassist Roger Bush also serving as the MC. Guitarist Clarence White, mandolinist Roland White, banjo player Billy Ray... Read More

Appalachian Swing!
Artist: The Kentucky Colonels

Appalachian Swing! is one of the most influential albums in the whole of bluegrass music, primarily because of the stunning playing of Clarence White. With his vibrant, innovative flat-picking, White helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument instead of confining it to just background... Read More

King of the Dobro
Artist: Josh Graves

This "musical documentary" is sort of the audio equivalent of a PBS special about the legendary dobro player Josh Graves. Narrator Bob O'Donnell walks the listener through stories and historical accounts from Bill Monroe, Marty Stuart, Mac Wiseman, Jerry Douglas, and others, as well as presenting musical examples of Graves' crisp playing. While... Read More

The Bluegrass Album, Vol. 3: California Connection
Artist: The Bluegrass Album Band

On their third album, the Bluegrass Album Band adds some more country-rock to the mix, in the form of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Devil In Disguise," but they largely stick to bluegrass classics from the likes of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs. Like the group's two previous albums, California Connection is filled with graceful, stunning... Read More

The Bluegrass Album, Vol. 2
Artist: The Bluegrass Album Band

The Bluegrass Album Band's second record reiterates all of the strong points of their debut -- the group's interaction and harmonies are so natural, they're breathtaking. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide Read More

Prestige/Folklore Years, Vol. 5: Have a Feast Here Tonight
Artist: The Lilly Brothers

In 1999, Fantasy reissued two classic Lilly Brothers albums on Vol. 5 of its Prestige/Folklore Years series: Bluegrass Breakdown (recorded in either late 1962 or early 1963) and Country Songs (recorded in 1964). Hearing the albums back to back on a single 75-minute CD, the listener is exposed to two very different but equally appealing sides of... Read More