From Amazon.com
Hot Guitar Duets
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Bryan Sutton flatpicks his way into acoustic guitar immortality with these 14 tracks, each with a different great partner.
Whether with Jerry Douglas, Dan Crary, Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Russ Barenberg, or the other hot pickers on this CD, each track is "lightning in a bottle."
Bluegrass lovers, come, sate yourselves.
a breathtaking overview of the flatpicker's art
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Flatpicking nirvana! When Bryan Sutton -- whose rippling lines and fat tones are among the finest to emerge from a steel-string's soundhole -- decided to record a series of duets with those who helped shape his playing, he grabbed a portable recording rig and visited a bevy of the world's top pickers. The result is Not Too Far from the Tree -- an amazing collection of 6-string conversations, as well as a breathtaking overview of the flatpicker's art. Sutton's musical partners include both trailblazers and modern masters: crosspicking pioneer George Shuffler, Norman Blake, Dan Crary, bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, Jack Lawrence, David Grier, flat-top sensei Doc Watson, Russ Barenberg, Ricky Skaggs, Dobro king Jerry Douglas, and Tony Rice. As an added bonus, Sutton turns in a beautiful piece with his first guitar teacher -- his father -- recorded in the living room where the young Sutton once practiced. In each duet, the guitars are recorded simply and naturally, allowing us to focus on each picker's unique style, and also dig the sonic differences between the various Martin, Taylor, Bourgeois, Gallagher, Gibson, and Huss & Dalton dreadnoughts (which are all detailed in the liner notes). Packed with red-hot versions of traditional tunes, Not Too Far from the Tree belongs in every flatpicker's collection, and is destined to become a classic.
Straightforward melody lines & fiery improvisations....new feelings out of the older, more familiar tunes
Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Playing Time - 49:12 - 1. Forked Deer (w/Dan Crary), 2. Bully of the Town (w/Norman Blake), 3. The Nine Pound Hammer (w/George Shuffler), 4. Lonesome Fiddle Blues (w/Tony Rice), 5. Billy in the Lowground (w/Jerry Sutton), 6. Stoney Creek (w/Jack Lawrence), 7. The Old Spinning Wheel (w/David Grier), 8. Big Sciota (w/Russ Barenberg), 9. Whiskey Before Breakfast (w/Doc Watson), 10. Bonaparte's Retreat (w/Jerry Douglas), 11. Give Me the Roses (w/Earl Scurggs), 12. Carroll County Blues (w/Ricky Skaggs), 13. Dusty Miller (w/Tony Rice), 14. Ragtime Annie (w/David Grier)
Originally from North Carolina, Bryan Sutton began playing guitar at age eight, and his first professional job playing guitar came in 1992 with Karen Peck, a southern gospel artist. In 1993, Sutton moved to Nashville and joined a gospel group called Mid South. Between 1995 and 2004, he found himself working with Ricky Skaggs, Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks, Hot Rize and Earl Scruggs. A multiple winner of the IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Award, Sutton has a number of key influences on the instrument. In late-2004, he got the idea to record duets with his musical heroes. With his 1940 Martin D-28 Herringbone, he set out with his digital recorder (an Alesis ADAT-XT-8) and some mics (Neumann K-54s and a U-87) to record duets with his friends in the comfort of their homes or a nearby studio. In the process, he tied in with his buddies Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Norman Blake, George Shuffler, Dan Crary, David Grier, Jack Lawrence, Earl Scruggs, Jerry Sutton, and Russ Barenberg. He acknowledges being able to get to all those on his list of influences but one, Mark O'Connor. Most of the featured tunes are considered hoedowns, and a waltz like "Give Me The Roses" provides nice contrast. A rag might have given some added diversity to the project. However, selections like "The Old Spinning Wheel" and "Carroll County Blues" do the trick.
"Not Too Far From The Tree" is a welcome presentation that defines flatpicked guitar, an art form of virtuoso technique and agility. Sutton and his partners prove a lot about the instrument. First, its incredible versatility provides the potential for a wide range of extraordinary and powerful sound. Second, the simplicity found in a stellar duo with a total of only 12 strings can also impart many complexities in mood and sentiment. However, it's this very simplicity found in straightforward melody lines and fiery improvisations that give this album its unique flair. This project makes a lot of musical sense, and the players successfully draw some new feelings out of the older, more familiar tunes. These tunes are still considered primarily as fiddle tunes, but Bryan Sutton, a leading player and purveyor of guitar, is staking a solid claim on them for his instrument. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
Purchases
1 Forked Deer
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