SAM BUSH
King Of My World (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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A prime architect of the 'newgrass' sound that heralded a major revival for American acoustic music, Sam Bush is generally recognized as the premier mandolinist on the scene, and widely known as one of the best fiddlers. He's real good banjo picker, too. And plays a guitar just fine, thanks. Oh yeah, he sings real purty, and writes a nifty tune when he's a mind to. Yep, if anybody is the king of his world, it's gotta be Sam Bush.

This album, his first studio release as a leader in five years, is just chock full of the evidence. He's assembled a fine band, adding guests as needed to a core outfit featuring John Randall Stewart on guitar, Byron House on bass and drummer Chris Brown, built and borrowed some terrific tunes and just laid down the magic from start to finish.

If the title seems a tad bit pretentious, any such notion is quickly punctured by Bush's formidable sense of humor, expressed everywhere from the cover photo to the smile-inducing title of "The Mahavishnu Mountain Boys" (and the performance will only make your grin grow).

If you know Sam Bush, you've been waiting for this one. If you haven't made his musical acquaintance (hard as that is for me to imagine), it's high time you did and there's no better way to do it than repeated listening to King Of My World.

Track List:

Puppies 'N Knapsacks * A Better Man * Eight More Miles To Louisville * They're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone * Bananas * King Of The World * Spirit Is The Journey * Majestic * Bless His Heart * The Mahavishnu Mountain Boys * The Wizard Of Oz

© 2004 - Shaun Dale