****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I wasn't familiar with Bill Emerson, but heard one of these songs on the radio and recognized Tony Rice's guitar. After finding out who and what it was, I ordered it and I'm glad I did! This is an instrumental album, all compositions written by Bill Emerson; the songs are melodic, bumping up against Newgrass without going all the way there. The other musicians are superb, and are often associated with Tony - Jimmy Gaudreau, Jerry Douglas, and Mark Schatz. Tony's on fire, and seems to relish a chance to kick back and play on someone else's recording. Bill is an excellent banjo player, and helps drive the whole thing along. Obviously, this is CD that will appeal to Tony Rice fans, but it's straight ahead enough that mainstream bluegrass fans will enjoy it, too. Glad I stumbled across this one!