From: gcmccoury@yahoo.com   
      
   If you enjoyed this CD check out "Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys - Live   
   Recordings 1956-1969" on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (SFW40063).   
      
   This CD contains previously unreleased recordings from the 1950s and '60s   
   including Monroe concert performances, jam sessions, and festival workshops   
   of Bill with the Bluegrass Boys and his brothers Charlie and Birch.   
   Performers included on this CD include Del McCoury, Billy Baker, Kenny   
   Baker, Bill Keith, Joe Stuart, Tex Logan, Bobby Hicks, Hazel Dickens, Roland   
   White and many others. Includes rare photos and extensive notes by Ralph   
   Rinzler.   
      
   "John Metzger"  wrote in message   
   news:5wV6d.4108$Rf1.126@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...   
   > Album Review - Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys - Live at Mechanics   
   > Hall   
   >   
   > These days, being tossed aside by the Nashville mainstream is a fairly   
   > typical occurrence, and many now view it as a badge of honor to be worn   
   > proudly. It wasn't always this way, however, and that this very fate   
   > befell Bill Monroe in the 1950s is a truly perplexing notion to consider.   
   > Sure, the legendary bandleader was an extraordinarily demanding and   
   > inordinately stubborn individual, and his behavior caused more than a few   
   > musicians to walk away from his ensemble. True, too, that his hit singles   
   > were coming further and further apart, making gigs even harder to secure.   
   > Yet, this was the Father of Bluegrass -- the guy who had put a fresh face   
   > on country music -- and despite the passage of time, his considerable   
   > skill hadn't diminished a bit. In fact, his slip in popularity could be   
   > blamed just as easily upon bad marketing as it could upon his problems   
   > with personnel.   
   >   
   > By 1963, however, both issues had been rectified, and Monroe's star once   
   > again was on the rise. Embraced by folk music revivalists, he surrounded   
   > himself with a new line-up that featured long-time bass player Bessie Lee   
   > Mauldin, fiddler Joe Stuart, and a pair of youngsters destined for   
   > greatness on their own: a superb banjo picker named Bill Keith and a   
   > relatively unknown banjoist-turned-guitarist named Del McCoury. It's this   
   > ensemble that is showcased on the archival release Live at Mechanics Hall,   
   > a freshly minted, 42-minute set that was originally recorded by David   
   > Grisman on November 16, 1963.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)