Off The Record, Vol. 1: Live Recordings, 1956-1969

Previously unreleased recordings from the 1950s and '60s present Monroe concert performances, jam sessions, and festival workshops of Bill with the Bluegrass Boys and his brothers Charlie and Birch. This 75-minute collection captures Monroe with Peter Rowan, Bill Keith, Tex Logan, Bobby Hicks, Del McCoury, Hazel Dickens, Roland White, and many, many others. Includes rare photos and extensive notes by Ralph Rinzler. "...culled from both concerts and picking parties, [this recording] reveals what a holy terror [Monroe] was in front of an audience--even of friends, at 4:45 a.m." -- Newsweek "Howdy, howdy folks. We're glad to be back for another show here. As we do the numbers now, we're gonna call each fellow's name out so we can get right along with the show." And what a show. Bluegrass has always been a live-performance genre, on stage or in the studio, and Bill Monroe never sounded better on stage than during these heady years of the folk revival. He had something to share and to prove to his new audience, and he wouldn't meet them halfway, choosing instead his grittiest traditional material and singing, especially in the late '50s, with full, high yodel and wail. His voice mellowed into the '60s, but his band, including many of the best bluegrass pickers ever (Bill Keith, Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, and Bobby Hicks for starters), never gave quarter. To understand Bill Monroe and his various ensembles, one needs to hear his stage brilliance, and there's no better place to start than with these warm, clear live recordings. --Roy Kasten

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