Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration: A Classic Bluegrass Tribute

Beautifully performed by a variety of artists from the Rounder catalogue and generously notated by label co-founder Bill Nowlin, this 2CD set showcases the rich and widespread legacy of mandolinist, songwriter, and bandleader Bill Monroe, who jacked in his oil refinery job for a career as an entertainer in the early 1930s, and didn't stop until the year of his death, 1996. He's been dubbed ‘the Father of Bluegrass’, and indeed the genre took its name from the single dominant species in the meadows of Monroe's native state of Kentucky. But this album is delightful evidence of the heterogeneity of bluegrass music, heard in the many varied approaches Monroe takes in his endless vocal and instrumental compositions and the taken by these particular tributaries. Such earlier Monroe material as the down-homey ‘Dog House Blues’ and ‘Goodbye Old Pal’ are evocative of Jimmie Rodgers, an acknowledged influence, while ‘Toy Heart’ (delivered here by Ricky Skaggs), better lends itself to the slick instrumentals and sophisticated arrangements which put bluegrass on a par with jazz. Lyrical themes shift from the transitory nature of love and of life to Christian admonitions and heavenly promises. The instrumental tracks, and the breaks in between the vocals, display impressive skill and creativity on mandolin, banjo, guitar, and paired or solo fiddle. Charming anomalies include the Celtic-flavoured ‘Jerusalem Ridge’ and the a capella ‘You're Drifting Away.’