Seldom Scene - Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert CD

Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert songs The Seldom Scene made a series of landmark albums in the early- to mid-'70s that climaxed with Live at the Cellar Door, a glorious set of 23 songs from the band's broad repertoire. To those familiar with the band's earlier albums, classic pieces like "Rider," "City of New Orleans," and "Small Exception of Me" will be familiar. The initiated will also know that these songs sound just as fabulous live, and that no one would want to miss the seven-minute version of "Rider." A number of tasty items also make their debut here. Mandolinist John Duffey sings a lovely version of Dylan's "Baby Blue," while guitarist John Starling offers a sterling take of Carter Stanley's "The Fields Have Turned Brown." The band's spacious sound, with Tom Gray's ever-present bass and Mike Auldridge's ringing dobro, reproduces well in a live setting. Likewise, the Seldom Scene's trademark three-part harmony looses nothing outside of the more rarified air of the studio. The group, it should be noted, also has a keen sense of humor. The band's old-timey parody of "Hit Parade of Love" is guaranteed to offend anyone addicted to the high-pitched, whiney brand of traditional bluegrass. As if to make up for such effrontery, respectful renditions of "Georgia Rose" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" are also offered. Arguably, the Seldom Scene never got any better than this. Live at the Cellar Door is a progressive bluegrass classic, and sounds as fresh and alive today as it did in 1975. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, ...

Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert CD music By 1974, the Seldom Scene was one of the hottest progressive bluegrass bands on the D.C. circuit. Their fourth album, Old Train, shows why. The band confidently kicks off with the instrumental "Appalachian Rain" before delving into their trademark three-part harmony on Herb Pedersen's "Wait a Minute." On songs like "Wait a Minute" and "Different Roads," John Starling's lead vocals sound more folk than bluegrass. Only John Duffy's tenor, coming in loud and clear on the chorus, reminds the listener that he or she is listening to a bluegrass group. The Seldom Scene, however, also has a traditional side. Sparkling versions of "The Old Crossroads," "Traveling on and On," and "Working on a Building" hark back respectfully to classic bluegrass. A number of guests help the band fill out its sound on Old Train. Linda Ronstadt's vocals show up on Paul Craft's drinking classic, "Through the Bottom of the Glass," while Ricky Skaggs' fiddling adds a number of flourishes. The album may seem a bit short by CD standards, but with material like the title track and "C & O Canal," every minute will be prized. For anyone curious about how good the original lineup sounded, Old Train provides a snapshot of a band that had it all. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. Personnel: Mike Auldridge (vocals, guitar, dobro); Ben Eldridge (vocals, guitar, banjo); John Duffy (vocals, guitar, mandolin); John Starling (vocals, guitar); John Duffey (vocals, mandolin); Tom Gray, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Paul Craft (guitar); Ricky Skaggs (violin, fiddle, viola); Bob Williams (harmonica). Recording information: Track Recorders, Washington D.C (03/1974).

Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert buy CD music This all-star tribute to America's finest progressive bluegrass band took place at the Kennedy Center in November of 1986, and featured performances by artists as prominent as Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt and as influential as Charlie Waller, Ricky Skaggs, and Tony Rice. The program is a delight from beginning to end, and includes the band's own renditions of classic material ("Workin' on a Building," "Rose of Old Kentucky") as well as a number of tribute performances by the guest artists. Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White deliver a gorgeous duet version of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You," while Harris and Ronstadt team up on "The Sweetest Gift." Original lead singer John Starling joins the Scene on several songs, and the resulting sound will make longstanding fans of the band wistful for the old days; though mandolinist and tenor singer John Duffey is beginning to sound his age at this point, the old magic is still there on "You Don't Know My Mind" and "Rose of Old Kentucky." The band's rollicking rendition of the traditional gospel classic "Take Me in Your Lifeboat" is the perfect finale. ~ Rick Anderson Full Title: The Seldom Scene And Their Very Special Guests 15th Anniversary Celebration Live At The Kennedy Center. The Seldom Scene: John Duffey (vocals, mandolin); Mike Auldridge (dobro, pedal steel, vocals); Lou Reid (guitar, fiddle, electric bass, vocals); Ben Eldridge (banjo, guitar); Tom Gray (upright bass, vocals). Producers: John Starling, Bill Wolf, Seldom Scene. Personnel: John Duffey (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Lou Reid (vocals, guitar, fiddle, electric bass); Emmylou Harris, John Starling, Jonathan Edwards, Paul Craft, Tony Rice, Charlie Waller (vocals, guitar); Mike Auldridge (vocals, dobro); Alan O'Bryant, Ben Eldridge (vocals, banjo); Ricky Skaggs (vocals, mandolin, fiddle); Tom Gray (vocals, upright bass); Sharon White, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Stuart Duncan, Bobby Hicks (fiddle); Peter Bonta (piano); Robbie Magruder (drums). Audio Remixer: Bill Wolf . Recording information: Bias Recording Co, Springfield, VA; Big Mo, Wheaton, MD; John F.Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts; Sheffield Audio, Phoienix, MD. Photographer: Al Sevilla. Unknown Contributor Role: Bill Mueller. Arranger: The Seldom Scene . Additional personnel: Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Sharon White (vocals); Emmylou Harris (guitar, vocals); Charlie Waller (guitar, vocals); Jonathan Edwards (guitar, vocals); John Starling (guitar, vocals); Tony Rice (guitar, vocals); Paul Craft (guitar, vocals); Ricky Skaggs (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, vocals); Bobby Hicks (fiddle); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Peter Bonta (piano); Robbie Magruder (drums).

Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert album for sale The Best of Seldom Scene, Vol. 1 contains a sampling of the progressive bluegrass band's first four albums on Rebel Records. Among the 16 tracks are several cover versions, including "Sing Me Back Home" by Merle Haggard; "City of New Orleans" by Steve Goodman; "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor; "Paradise" by John Prine; and they even manage to make the Ricky Nelson '50s hit "Poor Little Fool" sound as if it was written as a bluegrass tune. ~ Al Campbell Photographer: Carl Fleischhauer. Personnel: John Starling (vocals, tenor, guitar); John Duffey (tenor, baritone, mandolin); Mike Auldridge (dobro); Ben Eldridge (banjo); Ricky Skaggs (fiddle, viola). Recording information: Bias, Recording (1986); ITI Recordings (1986); R.H Homer &Associates (1986).

Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert CD music With the gradual departure of most of its original members and the sudden and untimely death of mandolinist/singer/founder John Duffey in late 1996, one might forgive the Seldom Scene if it had just given up the ghost. But instead, the sole remaining original member (banjoist Ben Eldridge) gathered some of the more recent participants around him (guitarist Dudley Connell, mandolinist Lou Reid, bassist Ronnie Simpkins, and Dobro player Fred Travers) and made one of the better Seldom Scene albums of the last 20 years. The band's reputation as a "progressive" bluegrass band remains intact, though now with a tighter focus: no synthesizers, no electric instruments. But the unusual song selections are still there, from Bruce Springsteen's "One Step Up" to Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and the Chuck Berry chestnut "Nadine." As it turns out, those are not the album's high points. Although the band's rendition of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" works very well, the Springsteen tune doesn't sit very comfortably in its arrangement, and "Nadine" is a disaster -- the banjo has to play painfully slowly to support the song's rhythm. But the Bill Monroe ("Blue and Lonesome") and Jim & Jesse ("I Will Always Be Waiting for You") numbers are standouts, and the funky bluegrass gospel of "You Better Get Right" is also superb. Maybe it's time for the Seldom Scene to go "acid grass" for good. ~ Rick Anderson Recorded at Bias Recording, Springfield, Virginia. Includes liner notes by John Starling. Personnel: Fred Travers (vocals, dobro); Lou Reid (vocals, mandolin); Ben Eldridge (guitar, banjo); Chris Eldridge (guitar). Audio Mixer: Bill Wolf . Liner Note Author: John Starling. Recording information: Bias Recording, Springfield, VA. Photographer: Will McIntyre. The Seldom Scene: Dudley Connell (vocals, guitar); Fred Travers (vocals, dobro); Lou Reid (vocals, mandolin); Ben Eldridge (guitar, banjo); Ronnie Simpkins (bass). Additional personnel: Chris Etheridge (guitar).

Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert buy CD music There is a funny moment on The New Seldom Scene Album (1976) that will leave fans smirking: does John Starling really make a reference to cocaine on Greg "Fingers" Taylor's "Big Rig"? It sure sounds like it, though the official version of the lyric is "smokin'," not "snortin'." Perhaps it sounded more natural when Jimmy Buffett sang it on Havana Daydreamin', but one has to remember this all happened in the '70s (and if someone had been smoking, it probably wouldn't have been cigarettes). The Seldom Scene had always proven eclectic in their song choices, and The New Seldom Scene Album is no different. Here, the band has written several originals, borrowed a classic from the Stanley Brothers, and picked up one Herb Pedersen and two Rodney Crowell songs. But the album also finds the band in a restless mood, edging away from its original template on cuts like Pedersen's "Easy Ride from Good Times to the Blues." Mike Auldridge trades his Dobro for a pedal steel here and guest Mark Cuff adds drums. It's a strange mixture, much less integrated than similar experiments by the New Grass Revival, and the band quickly switches between this and a more traditional mode of playing. While there is much to admire about the album, and while cuts like "I Haven't Got the Right to Love You" and "Rebels You Rest" are as good as anything the band had ever recorded, it's easy to get the impression that the original lineup was running out of ideas. Still, even on an off day, the charge of listening to the Seldom Scene is closer to "snortin'" than "smokin'," regardless of the lyric sheet. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. Recorded at Bias Recording, Falls Church, Virginia in Spring 1976. Personnel: Ben Eldridge (vocals, guitar, dobro, banjo); Mike Auldridge (vocals, guitar, dobro); John Duffy, John Duffey (vocals, guitar, mandolin); John Starling (vocals, guitar); Tom Gray, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Markus Cuff (drums). Recording information: Bias Recording, Falls Chruch, VA (1976). Arrangers: John Duffey; John Starling; Tom Gray. The Seldom Scene: John Duffey (vocals, guitar, mandolin); John Starling (vocals, guitar); Mike Auldridge (vocals, pedal steel guitar. dobro); Ben Eldridge (vocals, banjo, dobro); Tom Gray (vocals, bass). Additional personnel: Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Mark Cuff (drums, percussion).