Search - Country Gentlemen, Ricky Skaggs :: The Country Gentlemen Featuring Ricky Skaggs

After a long tenure with Rebel Records, the Country Gentlemen left for a short-lived stint with floundering Vanguard Records in the early 1970s, at a time when that venerable label was in decline. The Gents, on the other hand, were in the midst of their second truly classic period, when the group's leader Charlie Waller was augmented by mandolinist Doyle Lawson, banjo wizard Bill Emerson, and bassist Bill Yates. In 1973, a young Ricky Skaggs--not yet 20 years old and already a veteran of Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys--began sitting in on fiddle. This 12-song set documents that lineup and further illustrates the band's knack for drafting suitable "non-bluegrass" material into their classic bluegrass style. John Prine, Paul Simon, and Steve Goodman are successfully interpreted here, as is the old standard "Heartaches," done as a sprightly instrumental. The picking behind and around Waller's mellow baritone is superb throughout, the harmonies sublime, and the mood upbeat. --Marc Greilsamer