When
Moses Asch
released
American Banjo
(which focused on the influence of
Earl Scruggs
' innovative three-finger banjo playing technique) in 1956 on his little independent
Folkways
label, it was the first ever full-length
bluegrass
LP.
Asch
followed it up with dozens more, and when
became part of
Smithsonian Recordings
in 1987,
's
catalog was assured a quality label that would keep everything in print. The
music
released in the 1950s was a new hybrid driven by propulsive banjos and wailing fiddles, with astounding high, lonesome vocal harmonies, part
string band
, part
gospel
-
spiritual
, with more than a little of the
blues
to keep it grounded. Among the many highlights on this delightful set (the second
sampler the label has issued) are
Fred Price
,
Clint Howard
, and
Doc Watson
's three-part mountain harmonies on the
"Daniel Prayed"
; the more
old-timey
than
"Won't You Come and Sing for Me?"
by
Hazel Dickens
and
Alice Gerrard
;
"I've Endured"
by the late, great
Ola Belle Reed
, and the driving
"Renegade"
Bob Everhart
, which carries more than a bit of
country
in its DNA. Also worth noting are
John Hartford
's rhythmic fiddle plucking (which makes the fiddle sound a bit like a wayward ukulele) on
"Miss Ferris,"
's world-class flat picking guitar on
"Sitting on Top of the World,"
a version of the old
Mississippi Sheiks
78. There's a lot of soul in these tracks, and
has never sounded brighter or fresher than it did when
first took a chance on it some 50 years ago. ~ Steve Leggett