The Bluegrass Album
| Alan Jackson
The Bluegrass Album
The Bluegrass Album is the nineteenth studio album and the first bluegrass album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on September 24, 2013 via Alan's Country Records and EMI Nashville. Jackson wrote eight songs for the album. It also includes covers of The Dillards' "There Is a Time", John Anderson's "Wild and Blue" and Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky". Also included is a re-recording of "Let's Get Back to Me and You" from his 1994 album Who I Am, marking the second time Jackson has included two versions of the same song on two different albums ("A Woman's Love" was originally recorded for High Mileage and was later re-recorded for Like Red on a Rose).-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Taste of Country
September 26, 2013. The singer's naturally slow-paced storytelling style is highlighted on a project that provides his team of talented pickers plenty of room to fiddle about. It's an intimate album, with Jackson even talking directly to his fans at one point.
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American Songwriter
September 20, 2013. Anyone who’s listened to Alan Jackson sing about everything from lifelong love to bologna sandwiches knows that he believes in what he writes about. That’s what makes The Bluegrass Album a winner; he certainly didn’t have to record an album like this, he did it because he wanted to do it, and he sings the eight songs on this album like he’s lived them.
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Los Angeles Times
September 23, 2013. . . . there's nothing but earthy, lonesome music-making on Jackson's "The Bluegrass Album." It boasts all the requisite fiddle, mandolin, banjo, dobro, acoustic guitar, upright bass and sweet bending harmonies that define bluegrass.
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PopMatters
October 20, 2013. Now, here it is; plain and simple. It’s not a hybrid take on bluegrass but a purposely traditional one, while still carrying his musical personality… which means it’s a hybrid of sorts after all, but an unshowy, natural-feeling one.
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countryschatter.com
October 9, 2013. What you will hear on this album is Alan Jackson, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, dobro, upright bass and acoustic guitar, It is melodies, harmonies, stories, and voices blending together to give us bluegrass the way it was supposed to be sung.
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Saving Country Music
October 4, 2013. His grass is blue, and The Bluegrass Album shows his breadth of knowledge and dedication to a style of music that helped lay a foundation beneath his storied career.
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AllMusic
September 24, 2013. There's nothing too startling on The Bluegrass Album. It's bluegrass, after all, and Jackson's warm, familiar voice drops right in among the banjos, mandolins, and fiddles like it was born to be there, and he wrote most of the songs here, . . . .
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Country Standard Time
Jackson (and/or his label) were smart in calling this "The Bluegrass Album." Jackson was not afraid to blaze his own path, making it clear where he stood. . . . . Jackson knows what he is capable of doing and deserves full credit for pulling it off. Going bluegrass is a good thing.
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National Public Radio
October 10, 2013. Jackson wrote eight of the 14 cuts on The Bluegrass Album, and they are sturdily constructed models, weakened in spots by the author's disinclination to do anything showy, new or deeply emotional with the form.
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Spectrum Pulse
October 1, 2013. . . . The Bluegrass Album by Alan Jackson is great, and you can tell by how hard I'm hunting for potential issues and coming up short. It's incredibly solid, showing exactly how one should properly experiment within genres: with careful consideration, preparation, and a lot of passion for his subject matter, all of which Alan Jackson does have. This album easily earns its 8/10, and I'm happy to see Alan Jackson make the album he's clearly wanted to for a very long time.
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Life Successfully
November 11, 2013. This album is essentially Alan Jackson with banjos, which is really awesome. Ordinarily, this is not something I'd listen to, but I'm a big fan of this album. The new bluegrass-inspired version of one of his older hit songs, "Let's Get Back to Me and You," is in my opinion BETTER than the origina
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Cyber Grass
July 27, 2013. This is the first Country to Bluegrass artist to hit the mark and hit it dead center. Jackson is quite the bluegrass songwriter! His songs on the album are what makes this project so unique. Jackson literally nailed it with this release. This is bluegrass done right.
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The Salt Lake Tribune
September 28, 2013. To Jackson's credit, he doesn't aim any of these songs to fit country radio's format. Instead, he concentrates on making a solid string-band album for the ages — and succeeds.
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Keep It Country, Kids
December 12, 2013. Bluegrass is a genre within a genre that has great tradition and strong ties to its history. Alan Jackson completely understands and respects those ties with this album. This album is very bluegrass and very Alan Jackson at the same time.
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Bluegrass Unlimited
Jackson puts his own creative spin on The Dillards’ classic “There Is A Time,” while striving to stay true to Bill Monroe’s original version of “Blue Moon Of Kentucky.” What is especially appealing about this disc is the new material that Jackson wrote like “Appalachian Mountain Girl,” “Blue Ridge Mountain Song,” and one of his favorites, “Long Hard Road.”
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Courier Journal
September 25, 2013. . . . there’s nothing but earthy, lonesome music-making on Jackson’s “The Bluegrass Album.” It boasts all the requisite fiddle, mandolin, banjo, dobro, acoustic guitar, upright bass and sweet bending harmonies that define bluegrass.
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cleveland.com
September 11, 2013. Alan Jackson's labor of love, 'The Bluegrass Album,' is worth a holler. The album is true to the genre, performed with acoustic guitars, fiddles, upright basses and authentic mountain harmonies.
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