From Roots to Branches Vol. 1 is primarily an album of guitar duets. The renowned Bryan Sutton brings together a who’s who of guitar luminaries to present their takes on bluegrass standards and some lesser-known tunes. Most of the album is stripped down to just two guitars.
The prominent exception to this minimal approach is the first cut, featuring a full band, including Del McCoury, Billy Strings, and Sam Bush. This is a take on the much-revisited “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” In this case, he goes down to Deep Gap, apparently with Metallica as his backup band, to confront Doc Watson. This song is very much in the Billy Strings wheelhouse, attempting to broaden the genre and potentially bring in listeners who might not initially be interested in dissecting the nuances of this or that fiddle tune. It’s not really to my taste, but I’m all for it, as this approach really seems to be bringing new listeners into the bluegrass fold.
Mr. Sutton is also apparently an excellent instructor and is bringing more people into bluegrass via his guitar school on the ArtistWorks platform.
The other exception to traditional instrumentation is “Blue Night” with Joe Bonamassa, who plays electric guitar over Mr. Sutton’s Dreadnought.
If you prefer more traditional fare, the rest of the album will feel more comfortable. It seems like Mr. Sutton has recorded with nearly every bluegrass musician you’ve ever heard of and toured with everybody else, so this kind of album makes a lot of sense. I enjoyed hearing contemporary mandolin phenom Sierra Hull show off her guitar chops on “Grandfather’s Clock,” as well as the mellow “Three Star Hornpipe” with Kenny Smith.
This album includes a couple of duets with The Dead, Doc Watson and Tony Rice. As I listened to these, I assumed they were some kind of posthumous interventions, but was relieved to learn that they are, in fact, older recordings of Mr. Sutton playing with these legends.
I generally like this kind of album, as it allows me to compare and contrast the style of each player as they explore the tune. This one reminds me of the excellent Casey Campbell album Mandolin Duets Vol. 1, which everyone should check out. I am personally somewhat ambivalent about flatpicking records. I generally prefer to flatpick, however poorly, than to listen to flatpicking albums, however masterful.
That said, there is no disputing the musicianship on display on this album. I think that, given the wide array of guests picking with Mr. Sutton, there is something on this album for anyone who likes an album of flatpicked guitar.
