Various Artists - Bluegrass Class of 1990

This compilation album reads like a who's-who of the progressive bluegrass/new acoustic music movement: pros like mandolinist David Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice, dobro player Jerry Douglas and a pre-Flecktones Bela Fleck are all represented, as well as the (very) young Alison Krauss and many, many others.

Though most of the guns are big, some of the album's best moments come from artists who were relative unknowns at the time of its release: the Whitstein Brothers offer a classic guitar-mandolin duo number in the pre-war style of the Blue Sky Boys; Krauss delivers two modern bluegrass gems in a voice as bright and pure as an icicle melting in the sun. The album's highlight, though, is the rendition of "Old Home Place" by J.D. Crowe and the New South. It's a chestnut, all right, but the combination of Crowe's driving banjo and the ringing, bittersweet blend of Tony Rice and Ricky Skaggs' voices will make your hair stand on end every time you hear it. This album belongs on every bluegrass fan's desert island list. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alan O'Bryant Banjo, Vocals, Tenor (Vocal) Alison Krauss Performer, Vocals, Fiddle, Vocal Harmony Allen Shelton Banjo Anthony Rice Arranger, Producer Béla Fleck Banjo, Producer, Performer Bil VornDick Producer Bill Keith Banjo Bill Wolf Producer Bob "Barbecue Bob" Hicks Fiddle Bobby Hicks Fiddle Bobby Slone Bass Brent Truitt Mandolin Charles Collins Guitar Charles Whitstein Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals Charlie Collins Guitar Dave Denman Harmony, Vocal Harmony Dave Edmundson Fiddle, Tenor (Vocal) David Grisman Producer, Mandolin, Arranger, Performer David McLaughlin Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals Dick Erwin Bass Doc Watson Guitar, Arranger, Vocals Doyle Lawson Vocals, Mandolin, Tenor (Vocal) Dry Branch Fire Squad ?, Performer Dudley Connell Vocals, Guitar Eddie Stubbs Vocals, Fiddle Glen Duncan Fiddle J.D. Crowe Banjo, Guitar, Producer, Baritone (Vocal), Bass (Vocal), Performer Jeff White Guitar, Vocals, Vocal Harmony Jerry Douglas Dobro, Vocals, Bass (Vocal) Jesse McReynolds Mandolin, Vocals, Producer Jim & Jesse ?, Performer Jim & Jesse McReynolds Performer Jim McReynolds Vocals, Guitar, Producer Jim Nunally Guitar Jimmy Gaudreau Mandolin Joe Allen Bass (Acoustic) Joe Craven Mandolin John Hisey Banjo John Pennell Bass Jon Carrol Piano, Vocals Joseph Allen Bass (Acoustic), Bass Kate Wolf Vocal Harmony Ken Irwin Producer Larry Rice Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals Lonnie Meeker Guitar Lynn Morris Performer, Vocals, Guitar Lynn Morris Band Producer Marc Pruett Banjo Mark Compton Baritone (Vocal), Mandolin Mark Hembree Bass Mark Schatz Vocals, Bass (Acoustic), Bass Marshall Wilborn Bass, Vocal Harmony, Vocals Mary Jo Leet Vocal Harmony Mike Compton Mandolin Mike Harman Banjo, Vocal Harmony Mike Hembree Bass, Bass (Vocal) Mike Marshall Producer, Fiddle Norman Blake Performer, Producer, Guitar, Mandolin Pat Enright Tenor (Vocal), Vocals, Guitar Peter Rowan Vocals, Guitar Ray Legere Fiddle Rice Brothers Performer, Producer Richard Underwood Banjo, Vocals Ricky Simkins Fiddle, Viola Ricky Skaggs Producer, Fiddle, Mandolin, Tenor (Vocal), Vocals, Performer Rob Ickes Dobro Robert Whitstein Vocals, Guitar Ron Rice Bass, Bass (Acoustic) Ron Thomason Vocals, Producer, Guitar Ronnie McCoury Mandolin Roy Huskey Jr. Bass Roy M. "Junior" Husky Bass, Bass (Acoustic) Sam Bush Mandolin, Arranger, Performer, Producer Stuart Duncan Fiddle The Bluegrass Album Band Performer, ? The Johnson Mountain Boys Performer, Producer The Nashville Bluegrass Band Performer, Producer The Whitstein Brothers Producer, Performer Todd Phillips Bass Tom Adams Banjo Tony Furtado Performer, Banjo Tony Lawson Guitar, Vocals Tony Rice Producer, Vocals, Performer, Guitar Tony Trischka Banjo Vassar Clements Fiddle Whistein Brothers Performer Wyatt Rice Guitar