As the title suggests, this record falls directly into the wheelhouse of classic country and bluegrass fans. Bluegrass is about as innocuous of a music genre as there is, but it tends to attract some seriously expert musicians. This would make Ricky Skaggs the most innocuous of them all because he's won a shitload of awards playing bluegrass music. He started playing mandolin at the age of five, worked his way up the country ladder playing with notables Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Keith Whitley, then joined Emmylou Harris's band in the late 70's/early 80's. He led a very successful country life until the mid-90's when he started to focus solely on bluegrass. Country Hits Bluegrass Style is a perfect amalgamation of his styles, with a crack session band re-working a honky-tonk's worth of lost treasures. Highlights include some great solo trade-offs during Don William's "Country Boy", Skagg's silky harmonies on the re-cover of his Mel Tillis penned 1984 hit "Honey (Open The Door)", and a beautiful steel-pedal tinged version of Goldie Hill's "I Don't Care". This is knee-slappin', toe-tappin', hand-clappin" music that you can take back to the mountaintop, or sing it off of.
Buy this record if you want to whittle a bird cage on your back porch.
www.rickyskaggs.com
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