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Various Artists
Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to
The Moody Blues
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Bluegrass
and The Moody Blues. There is no way in hell this is a mix or a match. Or so I thought when I received this disc. Now, I’ve always been a fan of bluegrass because I like its earthiness. It’s real and satisfying; fun to listen to. Anyone who has seen the Coen Brothers’ classic, O Brother, Where Art Thou will attest to the friendliness of bluegrass and down south standards. Settled. But how do you take the Blues music and reinterpret it as bluegrass? Well..sit back and let’s talk.
The classical flow of The Moody Blues is what the band used to move their music. And we all know just how well it worked. Many albums and singles, live issues, collections and box sets later, there’s a legacy in place. But along come a concept and a group of vocalists and instrumentalists skilled in the art of bluegrass and something rather interesting and kind of magical happens.
This album of 12 classic Moody Blues songs gets reworked to reflect the bluegrass genre and yet retain the mysticism of the lyrics. What occurs is a delightful album that is both captivating and enjoyable. Despite my initial reticence before slipping the disc into the player, I actually became absorbed before the second chorus arrived on the first track, “Lovely to See You”. Now that song is actually my favourite of Moody Blues classics and I like it here. I do miss the spoken intro to the song but that’s all right as the instrumental playing is tuned in dead on. While you’ll know this is bluegrass, you’ll marvel at the attention to the detail of the music, note for note. There’s respect and love at work here.
They even track “Nights in White Satin” here, as difficult a classically influenced Blues song as there is to reinterpret as a bluegrass tune. But they pull it off. With a visit by tenor Alison Krauss and the employment of a string section composed of violins, violas, cello, and mandolin, what you get is nothing short of spectacular and may be the gem of the album in its presentation.
If you’re a Moody Blues fan, this collection of re-imagined Blues songs will fit into your collection and do it well. For the rest of you, even if you moderately enjoyed The Moody Blues, you’ll appreciate the bluegrass treatments here. I know. Look how well you received the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou.
All in all, this tribute to The Moody Blues, realized as bluegrass, is the stuff of rock n roll; the kind of rock n roll that embraces everything. I love that kind of rock.
Release Date: September 28, 2004
Tracks: 12 - Time: 48:41
Produced by: David Harvey
Format: CD
Website: www.rounder.com
Track Listing:
Lovely to See You /Land of Make Believe / The Voice / The Other Side of Life / It's Up to You / Ride My See Saw / I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band / Legend of a Mind / Your Wildest Dreams / Nights in White Satin / Late Lament / Never Comes the Day.
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