Bluegrass w/o the high lonesome?

[jac314]

So, I've been slowly developing a taste for bluegrass music. Actually, I've always enjoyed the instrumental part of bluegrass, but I just can't get used to the high straining-to-reach-the-note, sounds-like-a-cat-in-pain singing style. I also like the close harmonies, but I just can't develop the aesthetical appreciation for a lot of the singing. Although they aren't traditional bluegrass, part of the reason I've always been drawn to Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek is that they actually sing like normal people.

There are some people I've come across doing more traditional bluegrass whose voices I quite like, especially Dan Tyminski and Tim O'Brien. My question is if anyone has some recommendations of other bluegrass bands whose singers can actually sing (in the usual sense of that word).

(Disclaimer: I'm not trying to say that other bluegrass singers (like, for example, Del McCoury,) can't sing and have no talent. I just like different singing styles better)

[Mike Bunting]

Nope!

[lgc]

Ain't no BG without the high lonesome. You're thinkina country.

[mando83]

You mentioned you didn't like the straining to reach the high notes. Do you just not like the straining...or you don't like the high notes?

Cause Bobby Osborne can hit them high notes without straining (he still can hit alot of them now at 75 that some of the younger guys can't, but his early stuff is amazing).

But then again...it's not Bluegrass without the High Lonesome sound...It would just be acoustic music.

[jac314]

So, for example, are Tim O'Brien and Dan Tyminski not considered bluegrass? Maybe I'm confused as to what exactly "high lonesome" means, but I was using it to refer to the type of singing that, for example, Del McCoury does, but Dan Tyminski does not do. (And looking for examples of people who sing more like the latter than the former.)

[mandroid]

There ya go Jac, a new music niche to fill..

Baritone Bluegrass

some folks aren't born Tenors ,
but have to sing the part anyhow.


Spinal Tap's 'Big Bottom' wouldn't be right
on mandolin, either.

[Crowder]

So, for example, are Tim O'Brien and Dan Tyminski not considered bluegrass? #Maybe I'm confused as to what exactly "high lonesome" means, but I was using it to refer to the type of singing that, for example, Del McCoury does, but Dan Tyminski does not do. #(And looking for examples of people who sing more like the latter than the former.)

Don't let the Bluegrass Police get you down. Some people have so many rules for what is and what isn't bluegrass that they can only be happy listening to about three Bill Monroe songs over and over.

If you like smoother singing, I'd suggest...

-- The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
-- The Gibson Brothers
-- Dale Ann Bradley
-- The Infamous Stringdusters
-- The Bluegrass Album Band (you can't say that Tony Rice is not a bluegrass singer)
-- IIIrd Tyme Out
-- Blue Highway

Find the music you like and don't worry too much about how other people want to categorize it.

[allenhopkins]

Mac Wiseman.

[mandolirius]

<So, for example, are Tim O'Brien and Dan Tyminski not considered bluegrass?>

Well, Tyminski plays with Krauss, who is regularly labeled as not bluegrass. O'Brien has certainly done stuff outside of bluegrass, like his Celtic CD or his albums with his sister Mollie. So yeah, some of what they do would be considered by many to be "not bluegrass".

Others would respond by saying the definition of bluegrass should be expanded. Personally, I don't know what to say anymore to the question of what is, or isn't, bluegrass. Ever since the folk revival in the sixties, bluegrass been taking on a variety of influences. First it was repertoire, then the advent of women into the music in non-token roles. More recently, it's been influences from other musical styles, everything from folk to funk. The latest stylistic alteration I've observed is the fusing of old-time and bluegrass. Old-time music is undergoing a revival of it's own and it's definitely spilling over into bluegrass.

I recently saw John Reischman and the Jaybirds and was struck by how much old-time seems to be influencing their sound. I myself have just joined a band with a banjo player who plays both three-finger and clawhammer style. We mix bluegrass and old-time stuff but are basically a bluegrass band. I mean, we just played at the local bluegrass club and no one I can think of wouldn't call us a bluegrass band. I wouldn't know what else to call us either.

From where I sit, bluegrass has survived. It will live on, as jazz does. But what is jazz? It's so varied now the word has become almost useless as a descriptor. It could be anything from dixieland to some art band featuring three guys with samplers and a tenor sax. So you can't just say "jazz" anymore and leave it at that and I see bluegrass as headed in the same direction. The definition already has expanded beyond the high and lonesome style of singing (anyone remember Jim Eanes?) and will continue to do so. IMHO.

[mando83]

Dan sings lead, he still has tenor back vocals on the chorus.

If your request is for some lead singing that isn't high, there's alot to pick from. Not ever lead singer is also the tenor singer (i.e Lester Flatt).

Marty Stuart isn't high on lead.

My band plays alot of stuff from different genre's of music. (Always and Forever by Heatwave, and most recently we get alot of request for Feels Like Home written by Randy Newman and covered by Linda Rondstat among others).

Bluegrass as a genre has to be defined or else it wouldn't be a genre. I heard Jackie Mason say once that he couldnt understand why people got so upset when people sterotyped a culture of people (white, black, jew, gentle). If you can't stero type it then it's not a seperate culture and theres no need for sociology. Same is true with music, and for bluegrass a defining point is the High Lonesome Sound. Ask Bill You can find many quotes online where he defined Bluegrass as being High and Lonesome.

Theres the answer

(This does not mean that other forms of music are not good. Nor can they be used to influence bluegrass. Music is personal. Influences are everywhere. In my CD changer right now I have, James Blunt, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Tony Bennett, The Grascles, and Taylor Swift and before I changed them on Saturday I had Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Del McCoury, The Osborne Bros & Mac Wiseman, Soundtrack to Fiddler on the Roof, and Bette Midler)

[floyd26]

check out steve earle and the del mccoury band, the mountain. great cd, traditional bluegrass pickin without a real high voice on the lead.

[mandolirius]

<for bluegrass a defining point is the High Lonesome Sound. Ask Bill You can find many quotes online where he defined Bluegrass as being High and Lonesome.

Theres the answer>


I think not. The definition will change over time. Elements that defined jazz, or rock, or even folk have changed since the inception of those musical genres and will continue to do so. I think bluegrass has a future that, of course, includes high & lonesome singing without necessarily being defined by it.

If that doesn't happen, then any musical style will gradually become a museum piece, like Ragtime. I love ragtime but it's not a vital, thriving musical style. It's scene-setter music for movies and tv.

[Chris "Bucket" Thomas]

Not so high and lonesome:

-The Country Gentleman
-Mike Compton's singing with the NBB
-Roland White's singing with the Dreadful Snakes
-Most of Carter Stanley's stuff w/o Ralph on tenor
-The Seldom Scene

Monroe really didn't get high and lonesome until Jimmy Martin came on in the 1950s. Everything was moved up a key or two. Listen to the same songs from '45 and 10 years later.

[jac314]

Wow, thanks for all the responses - enough to keep me busy for awhile. To clarify, it's not the highness that I don't like, it's the particular hard-to-describe straining type of sound a lot of the older lead singers have.

Sorry if I started another what-is-bluegrass thing, though on that note, it might be helpful to know what exactly the "high lonesome sound" consists in. For example, Peter Rowan and Don Edwards' cd is called "High Lonesome Cowboy" and doesn't feature the type of singing in question, so maybe high lonesome refers to something other than the singing style.

[wglide]

Jac,
I know exactly what you mean. Even though I still like some of the High Lonesome, sound there is a world of great sounds that are not as "high" as some of the groups that you mentioned . Some other groups are J D Crowe's groups, Ralph Stanley ll,even Dr. Stanley himself as he sings with others on some of his later recordings Also most of the ladies since that sound falls easily into their range.Bluegrass has a wide range- find what you like & enjoy .

[jmcgann]

Hylo Brown.

[carlnut]

Rhonda Vincent

[Mandolusional]

Ralph Stanley II

[Mike Bunting]

Here we go again. Lester Flatt had a low voice.

[johnhgayjr]

Bluegrass w/o the high / lonesome? #

Ain't no part of nothin'

[bradeinhorn]

peter rowan is pretty sweet and high and lonesome.

lonesome riverband has had a lot of smooth singers and nice vocal trios. how about doyle lawson? check out aoife odonovan of crooked still. i think she is one of the best natural singers associated with the genre. who else? doc watson? norman blake? john hartford? there's lots of stuff out there.

[cooper4205]

Peter Rowan's singing on the Old & In the Way albums kinda got me warmed up to the 'high lonesome' singing. He's definitely got a great voice for bluegrass.

Another album I would recommend would be one of Drew Emmitt's solo efforts, 'Across the Bridge'.

[Bruce Evans]

I'm with you about preferring unstrained singing, but Dan Tyminski has done some high-lonesome stuff. Carry Me 'Cross the Mountain comes to mind.

[JEStanek]

Rcky Skaggs "Instrumentals" might fit the bill... Sometimes the high lonesome (esp. on older recordings) is a bit shrill for me and the beauty of the music gets lost. Other times, I really like it.

Jamie

[fredfrank]

You know, when I first got into Bluegrass, I was picking with a group of older guys that really liked the old stuff---Monroe, Stanley Brothers, etc. I didn't really like it either at that time. I favored Tony Rice and all the newer guys of the time. 'Course, being in the band meant I had to play the older songs. Over time, I came to appreciate the first generation of Bluegrass music.

So start with something you like, and go from there. You never know when Del McCoury will creep in and get you hooked.