>From this weeks N.M.E.
iN MY DAD'S BAG
Gavin Martin dons his pipe and slippers before unearthing a few gems for the,
um, older readers.
Steve Earle got his first bluegrass lesson from Bill Monroe, the man who
originated the keening hi-energy country sub-genre back in the 1930s. The
fruits of the reformed smackhead's learning can now be heard on THE STEVE
EARLE AND DEL McCOURY BAND's 'THE MOUNTAIN' (Grapevine) a new
high water mark for a music undervalued since the heyday of Monroe. Earle's
education is still in capable hands, with the McCoury family's blend of fiddles,
banjos and guitar chiming together at a faultless drummerless clip, and he
returns the favour with songs that do justice to the form's working-class roots
and lineage of longing. A cross-generational marvel. (8)
Andy
