While this CD is true to its title, I assumed, incorrectly, that it would be a collection of Monroe instrumentals. There are actually only four Monroe Instrumentals on the CD; “Bluegrass Breakdown,” “Jerusalem Ridge,” “Gold Rush” (written with Byron Berline) and “Road to Columbus.” Other fiddle tunes are included but these are traditional tunes such as Bill Cheatham and Old Joe Clark. The other tunes are a mix of tunes Monroe wrote, e.g. Uncle Pen and traditional tunes he recorded, e.g. John Henry. I’m inclined to say that I am disappointed in the selection of tunes as I was expecting something completely different. The musicians that play are top notch bluegrass musicians (in addition to Mike Scott – Adam Steffey, Bryan Sutton, Tim Stafford, Rob Ickes, Aubrey Haynie, Mike Compton and Ben Isaacs) and you get high energy, expert technical execution, and one fancy (tasty) lick after another from start to finish.
“Footprints In The Snow”
While I’m sure they have all listened to Bill Monroe play these tunes what you get in the end is not, in my opinion, a Monroe Sound. I enjoy listening to this CD and I play along with it listening for new ideas but anyone wanting to learn to play like Bill Monroe should go to the original source.
Track List:
1. Uncle Pen
2. Bluegrass Breakdown
3. Footprints In The Snow
4. Blue Moon of Kentucky
5. John Henry
6. Kentucky Waltz
7. My Rose Of Old Kentucky
8. Bill Cheatham
9. Road To Columbus
10. Molly and Tenbooks
11. Precious Memories
12. Ole Joe Clark
13. Lonesome Road Blues
14. Jerusalem Ridge
15. Crying Holy
16. Gold Rush
17. I Saw The Light
18. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Rural Rhythm Records
