John Duffey
It's safe to say that no one was more instrumental in creating the contemporary style of bluegrass than John Duffey. He was a founding member of both the Country Gentlemen and then the Seldom Scene, and though both bands continued to perform and record later on, there’s not much doubt that most of their best and most influential recordings were done for the Rebel label. With band mates like Charlie Waller and John Starling, there wasn’t a need for Duffey to do much more than supply his breath taking tenor harmonies and pick his mandolin. But happily he found time to take an occasional solo, and this gem of a reissue presents 15 of them, about evenly split between tracks with the Gents and cuts with the Scene. There’s something special about hearing all these great songs on one disc: The Young Fisherwoman, Some Old Day, This Morning At Nine, Bringing Mary Home, Falling Leaves, 500 Miles, Girl From the North Country, Heaven, Reason For Being and Silence or Tears among others. (His rendition of The School House Fire was not previously issued on Rebel). A wonderful tribute to a great artist, with a fine set of notes by Geoff Himes.
It's safe to say that no one was more instrumental in creating the contemporary style of bluegrass than John Duffey. He was a founding member of both the Country Gentlemen and then the Seldom Scene, and though both bands continued to perform and record later on, there’s not much doubt that most of their best and most influential recordings were done for the Rebel label. With band mates like Charlie Waller and John Starling, there wasn’t a need for Duffey to do much more than supply his breath taking tenor harmonies and pick his mandolin. But happily he found time to take an occasional solo, and this gem of a reissue presents 15 of them, about evenly split between tracks with the Gents and cuts with the Scene. There’s something special about hearing all these great songs on one disc: The Young Fisherwoman, Some Old Day, This Morning At Nine, Bringing Mary Home, Falling Leaves, 500 Miles, Girl From the North Country, Heaven, Reason For Being and Silence or Tears among others. (His rendition of The School House Fire was not previously issued on Rebel). A wonderful tribute to a great artist, with a fine set of notes by Geoff Himes.