Search - Seldom Scene :: Scenechronized

Scenechronized is the first new album since 2000 from these aptly named progressive bluegrass pioneers, and just the second since founding member and group leader John Duffey died of a heart attack in 1996. "America's Award-winning Bluegrass Band" (as they refer to themselves on their own website) will likely never regain the musical heights of their early 1970s line-up, but there is much to enjoy here, in this newer and younger incarnation (led by original banjoist Ben Eldridge). The traditional numbers are given a grittier bite throughout. A few of the numbers are direct tributes to Duffey, in the form of reworked versions of songs he performed with the Scene and with his first group, the Country Gentlemen. Cover versions have always been the band's highlights, however and this record's no exception. The songs by John Fogerty, Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, and Bob Dylan resonate with both high lonesome energy and a melodious melancholy. Here's to hoping it's not seven years until they release another new album. --Mike McGonigal