The Mandolin of Bill Monroe (long)
I put this collection of Monroe's music together for a workshop I gave a few years back. The idea was go go though his body of work and select cuts that highlighted various aspects of his mandolin playing. I originally posted it to the Monroe Appreciation Society (hmm, where have I seen those initials before) social group, but I thought I'd put it up on the message boards.
If you have these recordings, it's kind of fun to go through them in order and listen for the things mentioned in the notes. It's particularly useful for people who are just starting to get into Monroe and are a bit overwhelmed by his overall body of work.
1. Tennessee Blues (1940) - Any Monroe retrospective has to begin with this tour-de-force from the very first recording session by the Bluegrass Boys. Notice there are no other breaks. Monroe plays the whole thing on mandolin and, as he does, lays the foundation for most of the bluegrass mandolinists who follow for about the next thirty years.
2. Why Did You Wander (1946) - A gem from the first session with Flatt & Scruggs. Monroe is surging...rolling along with tremendous drive. He's clearly enjoying himself, playing a super-charged version of the Monroe Brothers style.
3. I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky (1947) - The alternate take from the Columbia boxed set. Monroe plays everything: leads, great backup, harmony lines with the fiddle and banjo. He's beginning to acquire the tremendous power in his playing that came out in the 1950's.
4. Mighty Dark To Travel (1947) - as above. His mandolin is taking on a darker tone. He seems to play better and better with each new recording.
5. Bluegrass Breakdown (1947) - This is it, the first true bluegrass instrumental (i.e. the first one not based on a standard blues progression) The inspiration for Foggy Mtn. Breakdown and countless others. Monroe's playing speaks for itself.
6. New Muleskinner Blues (1950) - Monroe's remake of the song that began it all, the first on the played on the Grand Ol' Opry, is also the first recording where he plays fully in the style he's come to be known for. His notes are pinched and cut off short. He's using mostly downstrokes, playing very close to the bridge. It's a harder, sharper sound than the 46-47 recordings.
7. Rawhide (1951) - Monroe's signature tune. His playing is very hot, especially the second break, foreshadowing what may be his best recorded work ever, Whitehouse Blues.
8. Whitehouse Blues (1954) - The early 1950's saw a great leap forward in Monroe's playing. He's gained more power in his right hand and incredible speed and dexterity in his left. Compare Monroe's breaks here, especially the last two, with the second break on Rawhide. His tone, volume and overall sound have increased slightly, but significantly in this three-year period.
9. Travelin' Blues (1951) - From the Jimmie Rodgers tribute session. Monroe plays a loose, relaxed break that displays his mastery of rhythm, even while taking a solo.
10. The Prisoner's Song (1951) - Monroe's first session without the Bluegrass Boys produced some pretty strange results. He responds to the unusual situation with a great vocal performance and blistering mandolin solo, intense and fiery as though he's trying to get as much of the bluegrass sound as possible into the session in his short opportunity. Although session players were occasionally used, Decca made only one more attempt to record Monroe without his band.
11. Ben Dewberry's Final Run (1951) - The second half of the Rodgers tribute was Decca's final attempt at matching Monroe with studio players. Again, not particularly successful but Monroe contributes a brilliant, loping solo that clearly shows him to be a blues palyer of the first degree.
12. Get On your Knees And Pray/Lord Protect My Soul (1951) - Some of Monroe's best playing over the years are his fills and turnarounds in the Bluegrass Boys' gospel quartets, often recorded with only guitar and mandolin as accompaniment. Here are two of the best examples of these short, terse but ultimately eloquent musical statements.
13. Get Up John (1953)/Get Up John (1965) - Always a potent a potent number for Monroe, Get Up John is based on an older tune called Sleepy-Eyed John. Monroe's cross-tuned mandolin demands attention and his playing is ferocious. This was the first tune recorded after the devastating car accident that laid him up for most of 1953 and very nearly ended his life. The second version, from the Smithsonian reissues, was recorded live with Peter Rowan on guitar, at the New Jersey home of fiddler Tex Logan.
14. Let the Light Shine Down On Me (1955) - A good example of how Monroe's playing developed during the 50's. the relaxed, rolling style of the previous decade is still there, with some additional rhythmic synchopations. His backup work has now become the crucial element in maintaining the sound of the band throughout a myriad of personnel changes.
15. Watermelon Hanging On The Vine/Roanoke/Brakeman's Blues/Close By/Bluegrass Stomp - These live performances from 1956 are some of the best illustrations of the strength and versatility of Monroe's playing. On Brakeman's Blues. Kentucky Waltz and Bluegrass Stomp, Edd Mayfield is the guitarist. His rhythm is particularly impressive, characterized by synchopated playing and extensive use of bass runs. Mayfield's work with the Bluegrass Boys represents the first major advance in bluegrass rhythm guitar since Lester Flatt joined the band in the mid-40's. On Close By, it's Monroe who contributes some incredible rhythm playing. Listen to the end of the second line in the fiddle break. He changes from a straight chop to a complicated pattern where he synchopates the "on" beat and then right back to the off beat chop. Also noteworthy is Monroe's moody, modal break following Don Reno's banjo extravaganza on Bluegrass Stomp.
16. Lord Lead Me On (1958) - Another first-rate example of Monroe's ability to say so much with so little. His tone is sharp, like glass breaking and every note is perfectly placed. More great singing and guitar-playing from Edd Mayfield.
17. Bluegrass, Part One (1960) - Also known as Bluegrass Twist, this is another of Monroe's blues numbers. However, this one has a special sound that arose from a problem with his mandolin at the time of the recording session. Apparently the thirteenth fret had come loose and one of the E strings was stuck momentarily underneath the fret, resulting in various harmonies as Monroe played that string. The odd effect is heard most clearly at the beginning of the second mandolin break, right after the fiddle solo.
18. I Have Found The Way (1962) - Similar to Let The Light Shine Down On Me, there are literally dozens of examples of Monroe playing in this smooth, relaxed style. It is bluegrass mandolin at it's very best.
19. Fire On The Mtn. (1964)/Kansas City Railroad Blues (1964) - These two numbers show how Monroe's mandolin sound changed during the 60's. He began moving his hand around, exploring the timbres and textures. Meanwhile his lead and rhythm playing became more integrated, to the point where he often abandoned the melody altogether in favour of exploring the tonal possibilities of his instrument. Listen to KCRB, where he produced a phase-shifter type of effect through the use of this technique.
20. Bluegrass Breakdown/Rawhide/Y'all Come (1964) - Comparing the first two tune with the originals, the change in Monroe's sound was obvious. By the 60's he was getting far more sound out of his instrument than in the ear part of of his career. His tag break on Y'all Come is an absolute stuner, similar to the kick-off to Roanoke.
21. What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul/Watson's Blues (1963) - Monroe's playing is comparatively delicate in this live performance with Doc Watson. As the sould instrumentalist, he displays a softer, more understated style than he does with the Bluegrass Boys.
22. Paddy On the Turnpike/Dusty Miller (1966) - From the first session with the Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, Lamar Grier band, here is Monroe at the height of his power and ability. It's difficult to imagine anyone getting more tone and volume out of a mandolin, especially at these tempos. These are bluegrass classics!
23. A Pretty Fair Maid In The Garden (1966) - Monroe's break, while not technically flawless is pure bluegrass. His choice of notes is perfect for bringing out the subtle nuances of the melody. An appreciation for the tone, timing and technique of this break is all one needs to understand Monroe's genius as a mandolinist.
24. The Dead March (1969)/Goin' Across The Sea (1989) - Monroe attributes these two tunes to his fiddling Uncle Pen.The first features an easy relaxed tempo that spotlights the tone of his mandolin. The second tune was recorded at Monroe's abandoned childhood home in Rosine, Kentucky, as part of the filming of the documentary High Lonesome.
Well, that's it. As I said, I could have continued into the 70's/80's but the goal wasn't so much to be comprehensive as it was to feature examples of the different aspects of his playing and, by the time I reached the end of the 60's I felt that goal had been accomplished. I really enjoyed immersing myself in Monroe's music and listening hard for specific things in his mandolin work.
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Originally Posted by mandozilla
Re: The Mandolin of Bill Monroe (long)
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