This four-CD box concludes Bear Family's encyclopedic six-box exploration of Monroe's career. The focus here, Monroe's last thirteen years on MCA, starts in 1981 when, diagnosed with colon cancer, he wrote and recorded the somber, decidedly un-Monroe instrumental peroration "My Last Days On Earth", strings and voices added with Monroe's approval. The disease proved life-changing. After he beat it and returned to the stage and studio, Monroe's stiff, formal public persona gave way to an approachable, even amiable nature. His later MCA years were consistent despite the ever-changing Blue Grass Boys lineup, and the stern legend who curtly refused to participate in the original Will The Circle Be Unbroken sessions recorded an all-star duet album with, among others, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Barbara Mandrell, then did a similar collection teaming with bluegrass progeny Ralph Stanley, Jim & Jesse, the Osbornes and the Country Gentlemen. Ending with a disc of mandolin solo pieces only distributed to radio, the collection reveals a spirit that endured, even as age took a toll, prior to his death in 1996.
Read next
ALBUM REVIEW: Little Feat ‘Strike Up The Band’ Excellently
Even though 'Strike Up the Band’s' thirteen cuts are all new originals, Little Feat haunts itself with ghosts of its long-running essence, a funk-stained radiance that cuts across all musical borders to resurrect and revitalize their ongoing journey.
ALBUM REVIEW: Sterling Drake's 'The Shape I'm In' is A Staggering Debut
On 'The Shape I'm In,' Sterling Drake pays tribute both to musical forebears such as Willie Nelson, Lead Belly, and Townes Van Zandt, and invites comparison to modern country and folk music’s best young songwriters, including Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, and Willi Carlisle.
ALBUM REVIEW: On 'From Newman Street,' Kassi Valazza is At Her Best
On her third album, 'From Newman Street,' Kassi Valazza uses humble landscapes to ground existential musings on the passage of time and navigating change.
Comments ()