And the Blue Grass Boys: Live at Mechanics Hall [Live]

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Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys have had dozens of notable members over the years, a fact that fuels the popular pastime of arguing about which version was the greatest of all. One of the strongest contenders for the title is the band featured on Live at Mechanics Hall, a 1963 concert recorded by David Grisman and now commercially released for the first time. Monroe's band that night featured fiddler Joe Stuart, bassist Bessie Lee, banjo picker Bill Keith (whose innovative "melodic" style helped pioneer the progressive strain of bluegrass later taken up by players such as Béla Fleck), and Del McCoury, a powerful singer and guitarist who would go on to keep the traditional bluegrass flame burning into the next century. Monroe was 53 years old at the time, but his energetic performances on classic like "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Uncle Pen" show a man more the capable of keeping up with musicians half his age. Monroe had sung and picked these songs many times before this show, but it's hard to imagine that he ever performed them better. --Michael John Simmons

Tracks:

Watermelon Hangin' On That Vine
Band Intros
Panhandle Country
Dark Hollow
On And On
Devil's Dream
Love's Gonna Live Here
Dreaming Of A Little Cabin
Muleskinner Blues
Footprints In The Snow
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Rawhide
John Henry
I Saw The Light
Waiting For Bea
What Would You Give In Exchange?
Uncle Pen
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Y'all Come

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Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys have had dozens of notable members over the years, a fact that fuels the popular pastime of arguing about which version was the greatest of all. One of the strongest contenders for the title is the band featured on Live at Mechanics Hall, a 1963 concert recorded by David Grisman and now commercially released for the first time. Monroe's band that night featured fiddler Joe Stuart, bassist Bessie Lee, banjo picker Bill Keith (whose innovative "melodic" style helped pioneer the progressive strain of bluegrass later taken up by players such as Béla Fleck), and Del McCoury, a powerful singer and guitarist who would go on to keep the traditional bluegrass flame burning into the next century. Monroe was 53 years old at the time, but his energetic performances on classic like "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Uncle Pen" show a man more the capable of keeping up with musicians half his age. Monroe had sung and picked these songs many times before this show, but it's hard to imagine that he ever performed them better. --Michael John Simmons

Customer Reviews:

Re-live a special moment of this seasoned performer .......2004-10-12

From the archives of Acoustic Disc comes a Bill Monroe concert recorded live by David Grisman at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Ma. on 11/16/63 featuring Blue Grass Boys Bill Keith, Del McCoury, Joe Stuart, Bessie Lee, Bea Lilly (one track) and Melissa Monroe (two tracks). After a one-minute rendition of "Watermelon Hangin' on that Vine," one can sense the electricity in the air during Monroe's introductions of his band members.

While the concert certainly featured many of Monroe's classic warhorses (e.g. Uncle Pen, Rawhide, Mule Skinner Blues, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Footprints in the Snow), there are some interesting offerings at this concert. One is Keith's jaw-dropping performance of "Devil's Dream." Another novelty is to hear Bill's 27-year-old daughter Melissa sing "Love's Gonna Live Here" and "Dreaming of a Little Cabin." Bill Monroe introduces "John Henry" as his new single, and he adds an extra verse so that nimble-fingered Bill Keith gets a couple breaks in the song. The Father of Bluegrass always included "hymn time" in the program, and he chose Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light" for this show. Mitchell "Bea" Lilly is introduced and a sterling duet of "What Would You Give in Exchange?" is a real crowd-pleaser. Responding to a request, the band serves up a high-stepping "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues," a song that they had recorded but didn't perform frequently.

Back in 1963, Bill Monroe would have been 53 years old. A seasoned performer with an excellent band, he was at one of the many pinnacles in his career. David Grisman and Acoustic Disc are to be commended for allowing us to re-live a special moment in time when Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys took the stage in Worcester, Ma. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

Music Album:

Music Album