Bluegrass Special

AMG Review of Bluegrass Special

Ken Dryden
All Music Guide

This single LP released by the Dutch Ariola label followed the earlier double-LP Live in Amsterdam, but it was evidently recorded at the same concert because there is an overlap of five songs heard in identical performances on both albums. That doesn't mean that this hard to find import isn't worth a search; there are excellent renditions of luegrass favorites such as "Orange Blossom Special," "Bugle Call Rag," plus Bill Monroe's songs "Uncle Penn" and "Shenandoah Valley Breakdown." By the time of this European tour in 1972, Rick Roberts had taken over from Chris Hillman as the leader, but fiddler Byron Berline and banjo player Alan Munde tend to attract the most attention. Particularly amusing is the brief three-banjo version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," though unlike the earlier Ariola release, this one was remixed a bit more cleanly. This is an essential LP for fans of the Flying Burrito Brothers.