The Kentucky Colonels are heard at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival on this Vanguard CD. A quartet at the time, as fiddler Scotty Stoneman had not yet joined the band, their performances include both instrumentals and vocals, with bassist Roger Bush also serving as the MC. Guitarist Clarence White, mandolinist Roland White, banjo player Billy Ray Latham, and bassist Roger Bush seem effortless as they delve into bluegrass favorites like "Shuckin' the Corn," "Sally Ann," and "Shady Grove," though there are a few surprises in store. Doc Watson joins Clarence White for six intricate guitar duets (including White's arrangement of "Soldier's Joy" and Watson's chart of "Lonesome Road Blues"). Several of the numbers near the end of the CD actually feature the Kentucky Colonels backing banjo master Bill Keith, who later joined Clarence White in the short-lived group Muleskinner. While there are a few spots where the sound is a tad overmodulated, this vintage live music will be of great interest to serious bluegrass fans. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Track List
(try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 and 17)
These guys may have been babies in 1964 but they played with a skill, maturity and authority normally reserved for their much older peers. This album along with Living In The Past on Sierra Briar should be mandatory istening/ownership for any bluegrass or Kentucky Colonels fan. They were then and they remain today decades ahead of their time and this album proves it.