BRYAN SUTTON
Bluegrass Guitar (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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People are always asking me who the best guitarist is. "The best" is an impossible way to describe a guitarist, really. It depends on too many variables - style of playing, choice of material, phase of the moon. There are lots of pickers who are the best at what they do at any particular moment, until the next moment when another best shows up around the corner.

Bryan Sutton certainly belongs on the list of those who are likely to be around that corner at any particular moment, though. The International Bluegrass Music Association's Guitar Player Of The Year in 2000, he's been the guitarist of choice for projects by people like Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck, Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks. Yep, there are some pretty strong arguments there for "the best." I'm not going to make them, though. I'm just going to say he's real damn good and encourage you to get ahold of his new Sugar Hill album Bluegrass Guitar. There's plenty of evidence there for you to make up your own mind.

He's got some real damn good help on the album, too. Dennis Crouch on bass, Tim Crouch on fiddle, Tim O'Brien on mandolin and David Talbot on banjo are all players with their own claim to being the best at what they do at one time or another. Here, what they do is provide outstanding support for some outstanding guitar playing. Sutton works through a dozen tunes from traditional and contemporary sources and he makes each one of them sparkle. I don't know who the best anything is, really, but I know that listening to this album is one of the best musical experiences I've had lately.

Track List:

Hangman's Reel * Daley's Reel * The High Road * Big Sandy River * Back Up And Push * Margaret's Waltz * High Heel Shoes * Nella's Dance * Whippersnapper * Roanoke * Beaumont Rag * The Storms Are On The Ocean

© 2003 - Shaun Dale