JOHN DUFFEY
Always In Style (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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While all the songs on this CD are drawn from the Sugar Hill catalog of recordings by the Seldom Scene, it's more than appropriate that it's credited to the longtime mandolin player and tenor voice for the band. Duffey joined the Seldom Scene in 1971, following a two year performing hiatus after he left the Country Gentlemen. His leadership roles in those two bands spanned over three decades, and along the way he earned considerable credit for the success of contemporary bluegrass.

Duffey died in 1996, and this tribute compilation is in many ways long overdue, but it's never too late and Sugar Hill has done a great job. The 21 tracks collected cover the period from 1978 until the last year of his life, and are among his finest performances. The material includes traditional songs, Bluegrass classics from the likes of Lester Flatt and Bill Monroe and Bluegrass adaptations of songs by Woody Guthrie, J.J. Cale and Graham Parsons. Wherever the music was found, though, by the time John Duffey got a hold of it, something new was created. These selections emphasize his vocal contributions, but there are plenty of mandolin hot licks, too.

There's not a cut on this disc that isn't special for some reason, so there's really no point in singling any of them out. If you have even a passing interest in Bluegrass, you'll want to hear each and every one, again and again. Always In Style is more than a tribute to a great musician, it's a tribute to the music he made great.

Track List:

Let Me Be Your Friend * Long Black Veil * The Old Hometown * Tennessee Blues * Rose Of Old Kentucky * Walk Through This World With Me * Philadelphia Lawyer * Were You There * Say Won't You Be Mine * Willie Roy * I Haven't Got The Right To Love You * After Midnight * The Boatman * They're At Rest Together * Pictures From Life's Other Side * Hickory Wind * She's More To Be Pitied * Here Today And Gone Tomorrow * Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way * Girl In The Night * Life Is Like A Mountain Railway

© 2000 - Shaun Dale