This Week in Sugar Hill History - "West Textures" (1989)

    An extraordinary songwriter and musician, Robert Earl Keen Jr. debuted his third solo album, "West Textures" on November 5, 1989. This album marked Keen's third outing and is a beautiful collection of tunes, most of which are original compositions. Like Nanci Griffith and Steve Earle, Keen's style lies somewhere between alternative country and contemporary folk. Filled with acoustic guitar, Dobro, fiddle, mandolin, accordion, and upright bass, "West Texture" is a consistently enjoyable collection of standout tracks.

Get the album from iTunes here or from Amazon here. Enjoy!

This Week in Sugar Hill History - "The Grass is Blue" (1999)

    On October 26, 1999, Dolly Parton released her first album with Sugar Hill Records, entitled "The Grass is Blue," and began a beautiful relationship with bluegrass music. It was inevitable that Parton would eventually go all the way back to the mountains with a bluegrass project. A child of the southern Appalachians, Parton would have absorbed this music straight through her skin during her formative years. And, indeed, her performance on this CD is impeccable, as is her choice of material. She convinced her producer that Billy Joel's "Travelin' Prayer" and Blackfoot's hard-rocking "Train, Train" could work as bluegrass songs and, sure enough, they did. She also reached into the traditional folk repertoire and crafted a beautiful, haunting version of "Silver Dagger." Parton shows a terrific knack for this genre and, as always, her approach was a bit eccentric, but that's one of her gifts as a musician. She's always followed her own muse; this time it led her to a singular interpretation of bluegrass that was one of the important bluegrass releases of 1999.

Get the album from iTunes here or from Amazon here. Enjoy!

This Week in Sugar Hill History - "Skip, Hop, and Wobble" (1993)

   19 years ago this week, on October 15, 1993, Jerry Douglas teamed up with Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer to collaborate on what would be one of the most influential Americana albums of their time: "Skip, Hop, and Wobble." Entirely instrumental, entirely enjoyable, the tracks on this CD run the gamut of musical expression from the humorous play of "Why Don't You Go Back to the Woods" to the slow, beautiful "Hymn to Ordinary Motion." The liner notes discuss the creative process around each song, as well as the group's union, and the challenges and rewards of playing as a trio. Sam Bush does a couple of very nice guest spots on mandolin. If you are tired of the musical simplicity and inane lyrics of much of today's music, this CD cleanses the palate.

Get the album from iTunes here or from Amazon here. Enjoy!

This Week in Sugar Hill History - Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City (2001)

On September 11, 2001, Sugar Hill Records released the classic "Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City" - a definitive collection of historic live Doc Watson recordings from 1962-1963.

This album documents Doc Watson's first solo public appearance; it finds him in front of an appreciative West Village crowd at the height of the early-'60s folk music craze, playing a borrowed acoustic guitar (at the time the only guitar he owned was the electric Les Paul with which he had been making a living as a member of a North Carolina rockabilly band) and performing a varied set of tunes that range from traditional ballads like "Little Sadie" and "The Roving Gambler" to traditional blues and Merle Travis-style guitar showcases. He's joined at various times by local folk luminaries John Herald, Ralph Rinzler, and Bob Yellin, but what is consistently striking is his mastery of the stage and the warmth and gentle virtuosity of his playing -- attributes that would later come to define his art, but which are remarkable in an artist performing solo for the first time. ~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

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This Week in Sugar Hill History - James McMurtry "Walk Between the Raindrops"

13 Years ago (way back in 1998), Sugar Hill released the roots, country album "Walk Between the Raindrops" by James McMurtry.

Singer/songwriter James McMurtry, son of novelist Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove), seems to have inherited his father's knack for weaving a story with memorable characters, the aural equivalent of a page-tuner. McMurtry's tales of lovers, losers, wanderers and rebels trying to make their way through America's heartland are as rich with detail as anything by Faulkner or Capote. "Soda and Salt" is a darkly amusing tale of a rebel-without-a-cause--at the grade school level. The snaking, sardonic mid-tempo rocker "Racing to the Red Light" is a slice-of-life about a guy desperate to escape Nowheresville, USA, where most others seem content--or have just given up. Stylistically and vocally, McMurtry recalls Loudon Wainwright III (earthy but with a dry, wry wit), Lou Reed (if Reed had grown up in the Midwest) and John Mellencamp (catchy rock and roll with a keen awareness of the American working class and an affinity for folk and country). His tunes have subtle melodies and touches (like the Irish folk-tinge in "Every Little Bit Counts")--they don't hit you over the head, but instead get under your skin, like you're getting to know the people he's singing about. McMurtry's songs stay with you long after the player reads "0:00."

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This Week in Sugar Hill History - Walk Between the Raindrops by Sugar Hill Records

Elements of a Bluegrass song

After looking back each week at a different Sugar Hill album. The high council of bluegrass has been able to construct a graph depicting the four main elements of a bluegrass song. This graph is a toll that should be used to help determine if an artist, suspected of being bluegrass, qualifies or not. At least one song on each album should include a part of the elements of a bluegrass song. Lonesome could include missing a loved one such as Momma, or their dear girl. Death could be figurative, although a more accurate designation would be a person killed by the singer like in "Banks of the Ohio". Trains are trains and there is no leniency on that issue. G runs are a must, but as any bluegrass musician knows G runs come in all shapes and sizes which is why they comprise such a large percentage. As long as they are included, the song and artist are permitted to be labeled Bluegrass pending they fit the qualifications for elements of a bluegrass wardrobe, instrument, and lifestyle. Below is a short selection of Sugar Hill songs that we feel represent some of these elements. 

Elements of a Bluegrass Song by Sugar Hill Records

This Week In Sugar Hill History: "Church Street Blues" by Tony Rice

18 years ago Sugar Hill released the incredible album “Church Street Blues” by Tony Rice.

The album concept is simple, Tony, shows his virtuosity by stripping all his music down to his 2 musical sources, guitar and voice or guitar and guitar. No fluff, no extra production, nothing but the man and his instrument. He plays all traditional songs with a few Bluegrass instrumentals thrown in. Though simple in its design, the simplicity really lets the listener fully appreciate the capabilities Tony has to offer. He continues his musical flexing by playing a nice wide variety from the Americana catalog. Sweet songs like “Streets of London”, to instrumentals like “Jerusalem Ridge”, or a ballad like “Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald”. All the songs have a strain of connectivity as they the instrumentation is similar, but are different from one another keeping you very interested in what comes next. Now an album of just guitar and vocal is no new concept, it’s something you can find in almost any small restaurant or coffee shop on a Friday night with some weekend warrior playing a nice spread of Jim Croce and Dave Matthews songs. What makes this album different is the how though it’s just these two simple musical sources, they are played so well it seems n lacking in nothing. The Guitar is precise with an energy only the best of flat top players can get, all while accompanying Tony’s rich baritone vocals. It is an inspirational album to any musician, bluegrass or not.

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This Week In Sugar Hill History: Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride

11 years ago Sugar Hill released the high energy, live recordings of Sam Bush at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival throughout the 90s.

"Recorded at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telludire, Colorado between June 1992 & June 1999.
If bluegrass is folk music on steroids, then ICE CAPS: PEAKS OF TELLURIDE is bluegrass on rocket fuel and kickapoo joy juice. Nashville mandolin ace Sam Bush is joined by other legendary pickers on this set of performances culled from 25 years of concerts at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Bob Dylan's "Girl From the North Country," a bluegrass favorite, is offered as a joyous, strumabilly romp. Bush tosses off the vocals in his fine, reedy tenor, then engages dobro master Jerry Douglas in a thrilling exchange of solos. Bush shows off his award winning fiddle chops, leading banjoist Bela Fleck, Douglas, and others on an incendiary stomp through "Big Mon," the Bill Monroe standard. This is fun music, and the crowd hollers itself hoarse with approval on Bush's hit "Same Ol' River," John Hiatt's "Memphis in the Meantime," and even a surprisingly apt reading of Kool And The Gang's "Celebrate." Bluegrass purists may look askance, but the virtuosity and huge good time captured here make this collection ideal for all lovers of rocking acoustic music."

Personnel: Sam Bush (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic & electric mandolins, fiddle); Jon Randall (vocals, guitar); Jeffro Beck (vocals, electric mandolin); John Cowan (vocals, bass); Dan Sadowski, Pastor Mustard (spoken vocals); Darrell Scott (guitar); Bela Fleck (banjo); Jerry Douglas (lap steel guitar, dobro); John Magnie (accordion); Larry Atamunik (drums).

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This Week in Sugar Hill History - Red Knuckles and The Trailblazers

22 years ago Sugar Hill released the wonderful Western Swing album “Shades of The Past” by Red Knuckles and The Trailblazers, a comedic alter ego of the group Hot Rize.

Musicians have always had an attraction to creating an alter ego that allows them to break loose from the image that has branded them to a certain style of music. Yet many times this proves unsuccessful. Remember Chris Gaines? Well sometime between Ziggy Stardust and Hannah Montana, right after Prince’s Camille the classic bluegrass group Hot Rize created Red Knuckle and The Trailblazers, a funny western swing quartet that played as good as the rest of them. Like most alter egos they utilized a distinct wardrobe change with western shirts, cowboy hats, and dark sunglasses. But alter ego aside, Red Knuckles and The Trailblazers can really play. Wonderful steel guitar licks and electric solos the boys of Hot Rize are truly able to sound like a completely new band. A good selection for any western swing fan, they provide great musicality with a fun, free willed spirit and a few laughs along the way. Listen below for a limited time.

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Red Knuckles and The Trailblazers - Shades of the Past

This Week In Sugar Hill History - Riding the Midnight Train

25 years ago Sugar Hill Released the Grammy award winning Doc Watson album “Ride the Midnight Train”.

The last album Merle Watson ever played on before his tragic death, this piece is a gem in the Sugar Hill catalog. The true bluegrass sound is a template for how it should be done. With Doc’s clean and creative picking and sweet gravel vocals accompanied by the always superb Mark O’Conner, Sam Bush, and Bela Fleck this album is hard to beat. It won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk album and holds a dear place in the bluegrass library.

Doc Watson (vocals, guitar); Merle Watson (guitar, banjo); Alan O'Bryant (guitar, background vocals); Bela Fleck (banjo); Sam Bush (mandolin); Mark O'Connor (fiddle); T. Michael Coleman (bass, background vocals).

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This Week in Sugar Hill History: Common Ground

Twelve years ago, Sugar Hill Records released the rich, progressive Bluegrass album, “Common Ground” by the group Blueridge.

"Back in the 1970s and '80s, "progressive" bluegrass more often than not meant three things: an electric bass, lots of melodic Trischka/Keith-style banjo, and cover versions of rock & roll songs like "Lay Down Sally" or, in one embarrassing case, "Why Must I Be a Teenager in Love?." In the late 90s there was a new breed of progressive bluegrass players on the scene, of which Blueridge is a good example. The group's sound is deeply rooted in traditional bluegrass, with rich four-part harmonies and a relatively straight-ahead playing style. But with Common Ground, the group presents a program consisting entirely of newly written songs -- no "Uncle Pen," no "Flint Hill Special." That's unusual even for most newgrass bands. And the songs themselves often depart considerably from the three-chord orthodoxy of traditional bluegrass, as on the fairly sophisticated "Talk It Out" and the complicated arrangement of "Appalachian Queen," a train song that incorporates elements of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" but demonstrates an innovative approach to solo placement. The singing is consistently excellent, as are the songs. Highly recommended". ~ Rick Anderson

Wayne Winkle (vocals, guitar); Terry Baucom (vocals, banjo); Alan Bibey (vocals, mandolin); Randy Graham (vocals, bass).


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This Week In Sugar Hill History - "like A Hurricane"

13 years ago this week Sugar Hill released the Chris Hillman record, “Like a Hurricane”.

“This is a solid album of new and old songs by one of the founding fathers of country rock. Chris Hillman has a wonderful voice, great pop instincts, and a finely developed talent for splicing together country, bluegrass, and four-chord rock & roll. A highlight is a cover of the Searchers' "When You Walk in the Room" -- two minutes of pure jingle-jangle pop perfection. Although "Like a Hurricane" (the title track is a Hillman original, not the Neil Young song) seldom reaches the heights of "Bakersfield Bound," Hillman and Herb Pedersen's outstanding 1996 tribute to hard California country, this former Byrd and Flying Burrito Brother can still teach the young country crowd a thing or two”. ~ Joel Roberts

Chris Hillman (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin); Jim Monahan (acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin); John Jorgenson (electric guitar, 12-string guitar, percussion); Michael Monarch (electric guitar, bottleneck guitar); Steve Hill (electric guitar); David Lindley (slide guitar); Jay Dee Maness (steel guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Skip Edwards (accordion); Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards); Steve Duncan (drums); Hal Blaine (percussion).

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Chris Hillman - Like a hurrican by Sugar Hill Records

This Week in Sugar Hill History: Back to Red River (1993)

18 years ago this week Sugar Hill Records released the album “Back to Red River”, by the group Front Range.

“Front Range was one of the best progressive bluegrass bands on the scene in part because it probably didn't consider itself a progressive bluegrass band. There are no Bob Dylan or Eric Clapton covers, no drums or electric basses, no extended Phish-style jams -- just exceptional songs (many of them penned by guitarist and bandleader Bob Amos) played and sung with a smooth intensity that manages simultaneously to sound up-to-the-minute and deeply rooted in the high lonesome verities. Because the band hails from western Colorado (hence its name), you'll hear a few more cowboy songs on their albums than on the typical bluegrass release, but that ends up working in their favor as well. Their unique take on "Red River Valley" starts this album off with a gentle bang, and Amos' original songs are top-notch as always. But Back to red River hits its peaks on the two traditional numbers: a gorgeous a capella arrangement of the gospel standard "Over in the Gloryland" and a high-octane romp through the classic "Sunny Side of Life". The band's instrumental chops are worth noting: banjo picker Ron Lynam is in particularly fine form on this outing, alternating gracefully between traditional Scruggs-style picking and cascading melodic licks, and Amos rips off a few impressive guitar leads as well. Highly recommended overall”. - Rick Anderson

Bob Amos (guitar, vocals), Mike Lantz (mandolin, vocals), Ron Lynam (banjo, vocals, guitar), Bob Dick (acoustic bass, vocals).

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This week in Sugar Hill History: Chambergrass (2002)

9 years ago this week Sugar Hill released the album "Berline+Crary+Hickman: Chambergrass: A Decade of Tunes from the Edges of Bluegrass".

"With Chambergrass: A Decade of Tunes From the Edges of Bluegrass, Sugar Hill Records collects a decade of Berline + Crary + Hickman's instrumentals. These are songs from the edges of bluegrass -- delicate and intricate numbers that explore the textures that can be created with fiddle, banjo, and guitar and an eye toward normally excluded genres like jazz, pop, and rock. Call it progressive bluegrass. Byron Berline, for one, played fiddle as a session musician for the original alternative country Cosmic American, Gram Parsons, and his musical repartee with banjo player John Hickman and guitarist Dan Crary -- as well as the trio's gift for experimentation -- is fully evident in this collection. Whether on reworked traditionals ("Forked Deer"), subtle live outtakes (Berline's autumnal "Fall Creek"), or stunning originals (Berline's frantic "Pistol Pete," Crary's quiet and starry "Night Run"), Berline + Crary + Hickman played wonderfully with chord changes, harmony, Crary's innovative rhythmic guitar, and the counterpoint of fiddle and banjo. Berline + Crary + Hickman were equally lauded and derided by bluegrass fans during their '70s and '80s heyday, a telltale sign that they're something worth listening to". - Charles Spano

Dan Crary (guitar); Skip Conover (dobro); John Hickman (banjo); Byron Berline (mandolin, fiddle, viola)

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