Justin Wolfe, Charger Staff
Have you ever been driving along, listening to some good classic rock tunes,
and thought to yourself, “These songs would be much better if they were
bluegrass?" If you have, then you need to check out the rock inspired bluegrass
albums in the Pickin’ On series.
Bluegrass is making a big comeback on the music scene these days with bands
like Nickel Creek, Allison Krauss, and Dolly Parton’s band, which features
Chris Thile of Nickel Creek on the mandolin, not to mention the huge success
of the film O Brother Where Art Thou? and its bluegrass/folk music soundtrack.
Riding along with the wave of bluegrass are the Pickin’ On albums. The
concept of the albums is not new--take old songs and play them in a different
way--but the bluegrass treatment given to the classic songs on these albums
makes them unique. The albums feature all the most well known tunes by great
artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Creed, and even Bob
Dylan and the Beatles.
Unlike many covered versions of classic songs, the Pickin’ On versions
are instrumental (no lyrics). As is common in bluegrass music, either the fiddle
or the mandolin plays the melody line to the song and other instruments occasionaly
take over.
Because nearly every song or track on a Pickin’ On album is a well known
classic by the artist, it is difficult for the new version to live up to the
original. One of the better bluegrass covers in the series is on Pickin’
On The Allman Brothers Band. The new version of an instrumental classic, “In
Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” lives up to the grandness of the original and
shows the tune in a new light. However, not every album in the series is good.
If you are into all genres of music and love to listen to different renditions of time tested music, then you need to check out the Pickin’ On albums. Just head to the bluegrass section of the music store and check out all the different artists that people are Pickin On.
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