There's a direct link to Mister Bill himself, since the song is sung by a former Bluegrass Boy, Del McCoury, who has the finest voice in bluegrass today.
Smith's recent biography of Monroe, Can't You Hear Me Callin', this song will be especially meaningful, showing how those lonesome songs were born of Monroe's experiences, such as the early death of his mother, the separations from his lover, Bessie Lee Mauldin, and the realization that they still loved each other. We finally have the ultimate musical tribute to Bill Monroe in "Bill Monroe - Singer of Lonesome Songs." If you've read Richard D. It has the flavor of a classic old fiddle tune, and ends with a wonderful double-stop solo. "Cowan's Branch" is an instrumental that sounds as though it might have been written by Bill Monroe himself, and I can think of no higher praise. Bela Fleck plays the same game on his solo, with some great rhythmic complexities that you never would have heard early Earl attempt. Duncan plays some more great blues fiddle here, fiddling traditionally but with a modern edge that cuts through. "Mountain City Blues" smacks of Jimmie Rodgers, and sure enough, there's a "Yodelay-ee-oh!" by the end. Tottle has the gift of writing new songs that have the spirit and feel of old ones while still giving us something fresh and original, and "Louisa County" fills this bill perfectly. "Rolling Breaker Blues" reminds us why the "blue" is in bluegrass, and is graced with Tottle's fine mandolin break, while Tony Rice and Stuart Duncan offer bluesy and sensitive guitar and fiddle solos. Tottle has written all the songs, and the title track is a fine start to the album, giving a history of bluegrass and paying tribute to its pioneers, like Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs. But more about that later - let's give the music a listen. There's a 20-page booklet that explains the bluegrass genre in words and photos, and the disc has CD-ROM content as well. Jack Tottle is a singer, songwriter and mandolin player, a real triple threat, and he's joined here by a whole major constellation of bluegrass stars, including Del and Ronnie McCoury, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Pat Enright, Mark Schatz and many more. If you're a bluegrass fan and want to introduce a friend to this wonderful music, I can't imagine a better way to do it than with this CD. Rambles.NET: Jack Tottle, The Bluegrass Sound Jack Tottle,
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