Track Listing

1. Introduction
2. Black-Eyed Suzie
3. How Mountain Girls Can Love
4. On a Lonesome Night
5. Song Intro
6. Amanda Jewell [Instrumental]
7. Why Did You Wander
8. Song Intro
9. Simple Life
10. Band Intro
11. Goin' to the Ceili [Instrumental]
12. Old Home Place
13. Song Intro
14. I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer
15. Song Intro
16. Crossville [Instrumental]
17. Song Intro
18. Somewhere Nice Forever
19. Uncle Pen
20. Pig in a Pen
21. Song Intro
22. Cat's in the Cradle
23. Song Intro
24. Get up John [Instrumental]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30296 in Music
• Released on: 2003-03-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Amazon.com
More than two decades ago, former Ralph Stanley and Emmylou Harris sideman Ricky Skaggs found mainstream stardom by reconfiguring bluegrass to make it accessible to a broader audience. Trends come and go but Skaggs, who never abandoned traditional bluegrass even during his peak hit-making years, had refocused on it long before the O Brother soundtrack gave it mass popularity. This live show showcases Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder, with a repertoire heavy on traditional tunes, the Stanley Brothers, and Bill Monroe. The energy rarely lets up as flawless hot licks fly hell bent for leather from Skaggs and his virtuoso sidemen. The problem is that, while audiences love all of the hot picking in concert, it can all tend to run together on record. That's why the truly sublime moments come when he dials down the energy as he does on Mac McAnally's aching "Somewhere Nice Forever," Carter Stanley's melancholy "On a Lonesome Night," and Red Smiley's "I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer." --Rich Kienzle

Customer Reviews

+1/2 -- Blazing live set from Bluegrass masters
Bluegrass music is built for live performance. Capturing Skaggs and his band of virtuosos on stage, interacting with and spurred on by an audience, not only shows what these players can do (as opposed to what a studio can make them sound like they can do), but captures the heart and soul of their music. From the blistering traditional opener, "Black Eyed Suzie," to the extended closing jam on Bill Monroe's "Get Up John," Skaggs and his band show off an astounding precision that amplifies the music's joy without ever becoming a labored technical exercise.

Skaggs' nimble fingers can fly at a blinding speed, as can his bandmates' flat-picked guitar, finger-picked banjo and bowed fiddle. If the hot picking were merely a flashy stunt, it would be impressive, but their fluidity - their jazz-like interplay - is an essential element of the music. This intensity shines just as brightly when they slow down for tunes like Carter Stanley's "On a Lonesome Night" and Red Smiley's gospel country "I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer."

Skaggs' tenor is as smooth as ever, whether blending with the band's close harmony singing, or providing the show's continuity with between-song patter. This disc is a superb introduction for the bluegrass neophyte, and will please Skaggs' fans with many tunes never before recorded by the artist, including a pair of new instrumentals. A concert disc can't replace attending a live show, but this one communicates the exhilaration of the experience with exceptional eloquence.

BEST EVER!
I am a true fan of bluegrass...but this album takes the prize! I bought this for my husband for Valentine's Day and we can't quit listening! My 6 yr. old and 3 yr. old go around singing "Black-Eyed Susie", "Simple Life" and of course..."Country rocks, but Bluegrass RULES"! The last instrumental on the album is GREAT...it is over 8 minutes long and keeps your toes tapping the ENTIRE time! If you like Bluegrass...after listening to this...you will LOVE it and will want more of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. I wish this CD had an additional 24 tracks!!!!!!

Bluegrass Lives
Certainly it does if you listen to this record. Of course listening to a record can never replace the feeling of the live event, but this record captures a good deal of it. Skaggs always had the perfect sense for great pickers, so his band "Kentucky Thunder" is like an all star Bluegrass unit, from veteran fiddler Bobby Hicks to young guitar virtuoso Cody Kilby, these boys are really hot! Song selection is great, it definitely makes a difference to hear new songs or old tunes that haven't been recorded for ages than to hear Orange Blossom Special and Foggy Mountain Breakdown for the 328th time.

This one's probably the next Bluegrass Album of the Year!