Am I Blue?
Well, when it comes to this album, yes. And the same goes for the Bela Fleck and Nickel Creek multichannel efforts. Not because of the mixes or the musicianship, but because they leave me wanting more. To me bluegrass is about putting it all out there, come what may. These efforts, though polished productions, lose something in their effort to be perfect. There seems to be an element of restraint present in these works that is juxtaposed to the genre.
For those of you new to Bluegrass check out: Old & In the Way (w/Jerry Garcia), the Jerry Garcia / David Grisman collaborations (Grateful Dawg), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Dream" or "Will the Circle Be Unbroken II", Leon Russell "Hank Wilson's Back Vol. I", John Hartford "Annual Waltz" or even "Blue Ridge Rangers" the solo effort by John Fogerty. Then go back and listen to Alison again and I think you'll hear what I mean.
And oh by the way, if you like the songwriting of Nickel Creek's "Out in the Woods" check it out by the person that wrote it, Sinead Lohan, her album "No Mermaid" is a gem. Also, if you like Alison's voice but are more into rock, ala Linda Ronstadt, try to find some old Karla Bonoff albums. My favorite is "Restless Nights".
Anyway for "New Favorite", which I've already had in stereo for the past year before getting the SACD, I give it a 10 for the multichannel mix and an 8 for it's representation of Bluegrass.
For those of you not so new to Bluegrass, don'tcha just miss Bill Monroe....
Aquadad