The Nashville Bluegrass Band

Sugar Hill Records – SUG-CD-4036

Format: CD, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Rock Bottom Blues (2:54)
02 The Boys Are Back In Town (2:15)
03 Don't Let Our Love Die (3:06)
04 Biggest Liars In Town (2:36)
05 The Fool (2:30)
06 Blue Train (2:49)
07 Waitin' For The Hard Times To Go (3:15)
08 When I Get Where I'm Goin' (2:52)
09 Backtrackin' (2:58)
10 Tear My Stillhouse Down (2:32)
11 Red Clay Halo (2:51)
12 Blue Cadillac (3:15)
13 Fiddlin' Bill (2:51)
14 Travelin' Raliroad Man Blues (3:08)
15 There's A Better Way (3:11)
16 Rockin' Chair Money (2:38)
[Credits]
Alan O'Bryant (banjo/vocals) Pat Enright (guitar/vocals) Stuart Duncan (fiddle/vocals) Gene Libbea (bass/vocals) Dennis Crouch (bass) Mike Compton (mandolin) Roland White (mandolin) Jerry Douglas (dobro)
Compilation Producer: Fred Jasper
[Notes]
Formed in 1984, the Nashville Bluegrass Band filled a slot somewhere between the new and the old, similar, in a number of ways, to Hot Rize. With smooth harmony and a folk sound, NBB blunts many of bluegrass' sharper, more rustic edges; at the same time, one would never confuse NBB with the '70s incarnation of the New Grass Revival or even the eclectically conservative Seldom Scene. While elements of the Nashville Bluegrass Band have changed over the years, all of the 16 selections on Best of the Sugar Hill Years feature vocalist/guitarist Pat Enright, banjoist/vocalist Alan O'Bryant, and fiddler Stuart Duncan. The mandolin spot, over the years, has changed between Mike Compton and Roland White, while the bass players featured on this collection include Gene Libbea and Dennis Crouch. For anyone familiar with the roots music field, this is an impressive roster, and one that works very well as a unit (thus, the emphasis on the "band" in Nashville Bluegrass Band). There's a lot of good stuff here, including the propulsive "Blue Train" and a fine take on Gillian Welch's "Tear My Stillhouse Down." Best of the Sugar Hill Years is a solid introduction to a fine contemporary bluegrass band. -- AllMusic Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Bluegrass Class of 1990: A Rounder Records Sampler

Rounder Records – CD AN 07

Format: CD, Sampler
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Lost and I'll Never Find the Way: Ricky Skaggs (02:07)
02 I'll Love Nobody But You: Jim & Jesse (02:18)
03 Let the Whole World Talk: The Johnson Mountain Boys (02:41)
04 Love You in Vain: Alison Krauss (02:23)
05 Bitter Green: Tony Rice (02:44)
06 Feast Here Tonight: David Grisman (02:33)
07 Old Devil's Dream: The Nashville Bluegrass Band (02:32)
08 What Was I Supposed to Do?: Lynn Morris (02:49)
09 Leather Britches: Sam Bush (03:43)
10 Old Home Place: J.D. Crowe (02:49)
11 Devil, Take the Farmer: Dry Branch Fire Squad (03:53)
12 Mansion on the Hill: Whistein Brothers (02:23)
13 Medley: Fiddler's Dream / Whiskey Before Breakfast: Norman Blake / Tony Rice (04:40)
14 This Old House: The Rice Brothers (04:56)
15 Foolish Heart: Alison Krauss (03:27)
16 Whitewater: Béla Fleck (03:10)
17 Preachin', Prayin', Singin': The Bluegrass Album Band (02:33)
18 Don't Worry: The Johnson Mountain Boys (03:00)
19 John Henry: Tony Furtado (02:43)
20 I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent): David Grisman (01:58)
21 Greenlight on the Southern: Tony Rice (03:23)
22 No Hiding Place: The Nashville Bluegrass Band (02:49)
[Notes]
This compilation album reads like a who's-who of the progressive bluegrass/new acoustic music movement: pros like mandolinist David Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice, dobro player Jerry Douglas and a pre-Flecktones Bela Fleck are all represented, as well as the (very) young Alison Krauss and many, many others. -- AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson

The Old Home Place: Bluegrass And Old-Time Mountain Music

Rounder Records CD 1166105142

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Country
[Tracklist]
01 Home Again: Livewire 2:48
02 Letter To Home: IIIrd Tyme Out (3:08)
03 Old Home Place:J.D. Crowe (2:47)
04 Who Will Watch The Home Place: Laurie Lewis (5:26)
05 To Be Back Home Again: Spectrum (3:52)
06 Leaving This Land: Suzanne Thomas (3:38)
07 My Native Home: Nashville Bluegrass Band (2:50)
08 Little Whitewashed Chimney: The Cox Family (2:47)
09 This Old House: The Rice Brothers (4:54)
10 Home: Jim & Jesse (2:37)
11 Lonesome Old Home: Longview (4:42)
12 Home Is Where The Heart Is: Connie & Babe (2:00)
13 Squad Auction At The Home Place: Dry Branch Fire (3:42)
14 Old Kentucky Home: Vern Williams (2:45)
15 Cheer Of The Home Fires: Bill Grant & Delia Bell (2:50)
16 You Don't Have To Go Home: Alecia Nugent (3:12)
17 Hills Of Home: Hazel Dickens (4:12)
[Credits]
Compile: Ken Irwin, Design: Sarah Lainie Smith, Liner Notes: Bill C. Malone
[Notes]
Few things surpass the importance of home in traditional folk and country music. The Old Home Place gathers 17 songs taken from the past recordings of Rounder Records' illustrious cadre of artists. Songs chosen from the catalogs of Jim & Jesse, J.D. Crowe, and Laurie Lewis run the gauntlet of old-time and bluegrass styles. The Nashville Bluegrass Band's version of A.P. Carter's "My Native Home" captures the lonesome feel of the lyrics, while the Cox Family brings their trademark harmony to bear on "Little Whitewashed Chimney." Ed Hamilton's classic "Lonesome Old Home" gets a fresh makeover from Longview, while "Home Is Where the Heart Is" receives a traditional rendering by Connie & Babe. The cumulative effect of this disc is comparable to listening to an hour of old favorites on the radio with no commercials. The album ends with Hazel Dickens' heartbreaking "Hills of Home," a song that captures the modern changes that overtook and scattered many rural households. There's a similar melancholy to "Auction at the Home Place" by the Dry Branch Fire Squad. Besides good music, The Old Home Place works as a mediation on "home" and what it means in a changing and uncertain world. Bluegrass and old-time fans, along with those who long for the old home place, will enjoy this collection.