There's a lot going on in this new 15-track album by one of the great names in Bluegrass music. Considered by many to be one of the very best banjo pickers in the business, Emerson is still at the top of his game, and it's hard to believe it has been 50 years since he first recorded with the fledgling Country Gentlemen in 1957. He has enlisted some fine pickers and singers for this disc which is excellent from start to finish. The neat feature of this recording is that each singer is really distinctive, yet everything is tied together nicely by the crisp instrumental work. Some of the standout cuts are Randy Waller's fine version of the old hymn BEAUTIFUL, Pete Goble's wonderful FIDDLERS' GREEN, Mark Newton's COLD SHEETS OF RAIN, Scott Linton's RIDING MY THUMB TO MEXICO and a spine tingling HILLS OF ROANE COUNTY by Paul Williams. There are two very nice songs by the female member of Emerson's new band, Con Burch, and the distinctive voice of Wayne Taylor reminds us of his work with Emerson in the COUNTRY CURRENT Naval band of a few years ago: his version of KEEP ON THE SUNNYSIDE is great. Pickers on this CD include Jimmy Gaudreau, Tony Rice, Pat White and Andy Ball. A great album!
