NASHVILLE BLUEGRASS BAND
Twenty Year Blues (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Ron Saranich

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Do you love listening to superb instrumental work, tight vocal harmonies, and thoughtful song selection? Then Twenty Year Blues is for you. This CD marks the 20th anniversary of the Nashville Bluegrass Band, featuring Alan O'Bryant on banjo, Pat Enright on guitar, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Mike Compton on mandolin, and Dennis Crouch on bass. All but Crouch sing lead and harmony vocals.

Among the many fine bluegrass and traditional American music CDs released the last few years, this is one of the most ambitious. Twenty Year Blues mixes traditional bluegrass with blues and gospel tunes to produce a fully realized CD of raw and emotional music. Classic blues numbers such as "Sitting On Top Of The World" and "Travelin' Railroad Man Blues" are given wonderful interpretations that sound as if these songs were originally written for the bluegrass genre. Combine them with such contemporary themed songs as "Luckiest Man Alive" and you have a minor classic. My favorite number is the exquisite vocal rendition of "Hush (Somebody's Callin' My Name)" addressing the pain and sorrow of the death of loved ones.

Twenty Year Blues is truly a CD that improves with each successive listening. The music is concise and taut, the performances moving. Kudos to Sugar Hill for producing this eloquent CD. Somebody's calling your name to buy this recording.

© 2004 - Ron Saranich