Retrograss


Retrograss is a bluegrass album by David Grisman, John Hartford and Mike Seeger. It was released on the Acoustic Disc record label in 1999.
For the 2000 Grammy Awards, Retrograss received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best [Traditional Folk Album|Best Traditional Folk Album].

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, critic Brian Kelly wrote "All in all, these live, in-studio recordings are mirthful, rocking chair adaptations of American music history. Seeger and Grisman's honeyed tenors conflict well with Hartford's quirky baritone. There are no breakneck solos, and the whole effort achieves more than the sum of its parts..."
Kevin Oliver of Country Standard Time wrote the "more radical reworkings are balanced out by some less revolutionary, but still intriguing versions of bluegrass tunes - Earl Scruggs, "Flint Hill Special," Jimmy Martin's "My Walking Shoes" and the omnipresent classic, "Uncle Pen." With these more traditional tunes included, what could have been a mere novelty record becomes a fascinating study in the mutability of musical genres from another era."

Track listing

  1. "My Walking Shoes" – 2:49
  2. "Hound Dawg" – 2:39
  3. "Maggie's Farm" – 2:48
  4. "Memphis" – 2:44
  5. "Flint Hill Special" – 2:32
  6. "The Old Home Place" – 3:02
  7. "Uncle Pen" – 3:02
  8. "Air Mail Special on the Fly" – 2:14
  9. "Rocky Top" – 3:30
  10. "Room at the Stop of the Stair" – 2:14
  11. "(Sittin' On) [The Dock of the Bay]" – 2:38
  12. "Jerusalem Ridge" – 3:39
  13. "Windy Mountain" – 3:07
  14. "Maybellene" – 2:40
  15. "Blue Ridge Cabin Home" – 3:16
  16. "Rocky Road Blues" – 3:42
  17. "When I'm Sixty-Four" – 7:51

Personnel

Production notes

  • Craig Miller – executive producer
  • David Dennison – engineer, mixing
  • Paul Stubblebine – mastering
  • D. Brent Hauseman – design, photography
  • Dave Kiphuth – illustrations, drawing
  • Andrew Day – photography
  • Clarke Prouty – photography