Mr. Earle Strikes Yet Again
* Making Hay in the Field of Bluegrass
* Country stars Ricky Skaggs and Steve Earle go back to their roots with
releases that are indicative of the folk genre's rising status.
MICHAEL McCALL* 02/28/99
Los Angeles Times
Copyright 1999 / The Times Mirror Company
NASHVILLE -- In the fall of 1997, Ricky Skaggs placed himself at a
crossroads that changed the direction of his career and his music. As
* Atlantic Records prepared to issue Skaggs' next country music album, the
Kentucky-born singer and mandolinist asked the record company if he could
* simultaneously release an all-bluegrass album on an independent label.
*Skaggs thought the bluegrass album might help raise his profile. His
record sales had slipped significantly in the 1990s, and the onetime
million-seller no longer received any significant airplay on the singles
he released to country radio.
TD
He hoped the concurrent release of two albums might stir interest in
him. Atlantic Records agreed and allowed the move to be made. The result
* surprised everyone, from country music insiders to longtime bluegrass
enthusiasts.
"Life Is a Journey," Skaggs' country album, was released by Atlantic
* in September 1997 and barely sold 20,000 copies. Meanwhile, "Bluegrass
Rules!" was released a month later in a joint partnership between Skaggs
and the independent label Rounder Records. It sold more than 150,000
* copies and received the Grammy for best bluegrass album on Wednesday.
"I am unbelievably overjoyed at what's happened," Skaggs says,
beaming. Because of those sales figures, Skaggs has left Atlantic and has
* devoted himself to playing bluegrass music full time again.
*For the bluegrass community, Skaggs' success is just one high-profile
example of a growing interest in the traditional American musical genre,
which was founded in the 1940s when the late Bill Monroe formed his famed
* Bluegrass Boys band, which included Earl Scruggs on banjo and Lester
Flatt on guitar and vocals.
*With Skaggs now fully back in the bluegrass fold, he has joined
singer-fiddler Alison Krauss as one of the leading young proponents of
the genre. But if Skaggs and Krauss are the modern-day king and queen of
* bluegrass, the dominion they rule is bigger and healthier than it has
* been since the early 1960s, when bluegrass' popularity spread beyond the
* Southeast as part of the folk-music boom.
*Dan Hayes, executive director of the International Bluegrass Music
Assn., characterizes the late 1990s as "a particularly golden time in
* bluegrass music history," adding that there is more good talent playing
to larger audiences and selling more albums than at any time in recent
history.
*Besides Skaggs' recently released album "Ancient Tones," the bluegrass
community will be watching closely the reaction to two other
just-released collections: the Del McCoury Band's "The Family" (on
* Skaggs' Ceili Music label) and Steve Earle's collaboration with the
McCoury Band, "The Mountain" (on Earle's own E-Squared label).
Earle's album is certainly the most surprising and talked-about
* bluegrass entry since Skaggs' return to the fold a year and a half ago.
*"The Mountain" pairs Earle with the most awarded bluegrass group of
the '90s. The acoustic album features a drum-less band, built
* bluegrass-style around mandolin, fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar and
stand-up bass. All the songs were written by Earle, who penned most of
them with the McCoury Band in mind.
In their way, the three high-profile albums by Skaggs, Earle and the
McCoury Band are decidedly distinct from one another. Skaggs and Kentucky
Thunder's "Ancient Tones" collection looks backward by largely drawing on
* mountain music classics originally performed by such bluegrass patriarchs
as the Stanley Brothers, Flatt Scruggs and Bill Monroe. Rather than
calling on nostalgia, though, Kentucky Thunder plays the songs with a
dynamic intensity that highlights the timelessness of the music.
On the other hand, Earle's "The Mountain" features original songs
written by the singer-songwriter, who further displays his mastery by
* both perfectly mimicking archetypal bluegrass tunes ("Carrie Brown") as
well as expanding the genre to take on new topics and influences ("Paddy
on the Beat"). By coincidence, both Skaggs and Earle wrote a new
instrumental with a reference in the title to Connemara, a scenic rural
area in western Ireland.
The Del McCoury Band straddles Skaggs' classicism and Earle's forward
* progress. By combining a stunning vocal workout on the classic bluegrass
gospel song "Get Down on Your Knees and Pray" with a bristling version of
the pop oldie "Nashville Cats" and stellar new songs, McCoury pays
respect to the past while casting an eye to the future.
*"Bluegrass has been a component of my music for as long as I've been
* making records," Earle
Re: Mr. Earle Strikes Yet Again
No offense dude, but if you plan on sending a butload of mail to the lists
could you do it at once? I stopped reading them after number five.
At 05:11 PM 2/28/99 -0500, you wrote:
* Making Hay in the Field of Bluegrass
* Country stars Ricky Skaggs and Steve Earle go back to their roots with
releases that are indicative of the folk genre's rising status.
MICHAEL McCALL* 02/28/99
Los Angeles Times
Copyright 1999 / The Times Mirror Company
NASHVILLE -- In the fall of 1997, Ricky Skaggs placed himself at a
crossroads that changed the direction of his career and his music. As
* Atlantic Records prepared to issue Skaggs' next country music album, the
Kentucky-born singer and mandolinist asked the record company if he could
* simultaneously release an all-bluegrass album on an independent label.
*Skaggs thought the bluegrass album might help raise his profile. His
record sales had slipped significantly in the 1990s, and the onetime
million-seller no longer received any significant airplay on the singles
he released to country radio.
TD
He hoped the concurrent release of two albums might stir interest in
him. Atlantic Records agreed and allowed the move to be made. The result
* surprised everyone, from country music insiders to longtime bluegrass
enthusiasts.
"Life Is a Journey," Skaggs' country album, was released by Atlantic
* in September 1997 and barely sold 20,000 copies. Meanwhile, "Bluegrass
Rules!" was released a month later in a joint partnership between Skaggs
and the independent label Rounder Records. It sold more than 150,000
* copies and received the Grammy for best bluegrass album on Wednesday.
"I am unbelievably overjoyed at what's happened," Skaggs says,
beaming. Because of those sales figures, Skaggs has left Atlantic and has
* devoted himself to playing bluegrass music full time again.
*For the bluegrass community, Skaggs' success is just one high-profile
example of a growing interest in the traditional American musical genre,
which was founded in the 1940s when the late Bill Monroe formed his famed
* Bluegrass Boys band, which included Earl Scruggs on banjo and Lester
Flatt on guitar and vocals.
*With Skaggs now fully back in the bluegrass fold, he has joined
singer-fiddler Alison Krauss as one of the leading young proponents of
the genre. But if Skaggs and Krauss are the modern-day king and queen of
* bluegrass, the dominion they rule is bigger and healthier than it has
* been since the early 1960s, when bluegrass' popularity spread beyond the
* Southeast as part of the folk-music boom.
*Dan Hayes, executive director of the International Bluegrass Music
Assn., characterizes the late 1990s as "a particularly golden time in
* bluegrass music history," adding that there is more good talent playing
to larger audiences and selling more albums than at any time in recent
history.
*Besides Skaggs' recently released album "Ancient Tones," the bluegrass
community will be watching closely the reaction to two other
just-released collections: the Del McCoury Band's "The Family" (on
* Skaggs' Ceili Music label) and Steve Earle's collaboration with the
McCoury Band, "The Mountain" (on Earle's own E-Squared label).
Earle's album is certainly the most surprising and talked-about
* bluegrass entry since Skaggs' return to the fold a year and a half ago.
*"The Mountain" pairs Earle with the most awarded bluegrass group of
the '90s. The acoustic album features a drum-less band, built
* bluegrass-style around mandolin, fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar and
stand-up bass. All the songs were written by Earle, who penned most of
them with the McCoury Band in mind.
In their way, the three high-profile albums by Skaggs, Earle and the
McCoury Band are decidedly distinct from one another. Skaggs and Kentucky
Thunder's "Ancient Tones" collection looks backward by largely drawing on
* mountain music classics originally performed by such bluegrass patriarchs
as the Stanley Brothers, Flatt Scruggs and Bill Monroe. Rather than
calling on nostalgia, though, Kentucky Thunder plays the songs with a
dynamic intensity that highlights the timelessness of the music.
On the other hand, Earle's "The Mountain" features original songs
written by the singer-songwriter, who further displays his mastery by
* both perfectly mimicking archetypal bluegrass tunes ("Carrie Brown") as
well as expanding the genre to take on new topics and influences ("Paddy
on the Beat"). By coincidence, both Skaggs and Earle wrote a new
instrumental with a reference in the title to Connemara, a scenic rural
area in western Ireland.
The Del McCoury Band straddles Skaggs' classicism and Earle's forward
* progress. By combining a stunning vocal workout on the classic bluegrass
gospel song "Get Down on Your Knees and Pray" with a bristling version of
the pop oldie "Nashville Cats" and stellar
Re: Mr. Earle Strikes Yet Again
No offense dude, but if you plan on sending a butload of mail to the lists could you do it at once? I stopped reading them after number five. No offense, Mr. Dude, but Phil's postings of the key ongoing alt.country news have been a much-loved part of this list for years--and it's only lately he's resoreted to doing them once a week instead of every day. here's an idea--live with it. Barry M.
Phil rawks! (was Mr. Earle Strikes Yet Again)
No offense dude, but if you plan on sending a butload of mail to the lists could you do it at once? I stopped reading them after number five. No offense, Mr. Dude, but Phil's postings of the key ongoing alt.country news have been a much-loved part of this list for years--and it's only lately he's resoreted to doing them once a week instead of every day. here's an idea--live with it. Barry M. I agree with Barry - and I know that most everyone on the list feels the same. Phil puts a lot of time and energy into sending these clips to the list. I for one appreciate his effort and look forward to reading these clips. Please don't stop, Phil. marie
