Essential (W/2 Live Tracks) [Original recording remastered]

Along with the first three tracks which represent his tenure with Monroe's Blue Grass Boys (including the classic "Molly and Tenbrooks"), the bulk of this collection consists of his 20-year partnership with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys (Disc One, 4-20 and Disc Two, 3-10). Many of these original compositions have become bluegrass classics: "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," "Don't Get Above Your Raising," "Flint Hill Special" among them. Scruggs is also an accomplished guitar player on tracks like "Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy" and the instrumental "Georgia Buck." The final ten tracks have Scruggs working with other artists, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tom T. Hall, Johnny Cash and ,of course, his sons in the Earl Scruggs Review.

While Scruggs has recorded infrequently since the most recent track on this collection (1984's American-Made"), it would have been nice to have a track or two from 2001's EARL SCRUGGS AND FRIENDS and 2003's THREE PICKERS with Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs.

My only real complaint is the brevity of these two discs (51:47 and 53:42, respectively). If this only whets your appetite, Flatt and Scruggs' COMPLETE MERCURY RECORDINGS (28 tracks) is back in print and 'TIS SWEET TO BE REMEMBERED (34 tracks) offers a broader look at the duo's tenure at Columbia.

All things considred, this is collection makes a terrific crash course in bluegrass music and illustrates why Earl Scruggs is one of the giants of the genre. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In Twentieth Century America, the terms "Banjo" and "Scruggs" are nearly synonymous. Once can barely speak of one without mention of the other. That is why I was particularly excited to hear about Columbia/Legacy's release of the double-CD "Essential Earl Scruggs," in early 2003 to coincide with Scruggs' 80th birthday. Spanning the seminal picker's career, the 40 tracks from 1946 to 1984 give us a good overview of his music. Only three tracks (Heavy Traffic Ahead, It's Mighty Dark to Travel, Molly and Tenbrooks) emanate from Scruggs' involvement with Bill Monroe in the late-40s, and this cursory treatment is unfortunate. The great majority (about 26 tracks) document the great collaboration of Earl Scruggs with Lester Flatt. I'm not certain how many of the tracks here overlap with another 2-CD set, "The Essential Flatt & Scruggs."

I recently learned on the BGRASS-L listserv that Flatt & Scruggs had 20 entries on the Billboard chart between 1952 and 1968, with 15 of them reaching the Top 40. One could certainly argue that all twenty are essential listening. So where are the likes of charting tracks like Legend of the Johnson Boys, New York Town, My Saro Jane, California Uptight Band, and Like A Rolling Stone? Certainly, a song's charting success may not be a good measure of its essentialness today. Songs like Roll in my Sweet Baby's Arms, Salty Dog, Jimmie Brown the Newsboy, Get in Line Brother, and most of Scruggs' great instrumentals are a basic, indispensable foundation of the bluegrass repertoire. Be sure to tune into Scurggs' lead guitar work on Jimmie Brown. The cornerstone of bluegrass is well represented here.

Of special note are "John Henry" and "Cumberland Gap," recorded live in 1959 at the Newport Folk Festival with Hylo Brown and the Timberliners, and the 1961 cut of "Foggy Mountain Top" with Mother Maybelle Carter. Johnny Cash appears in the 1975 recording of "I Still Miss Someone," and Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas and Bobby Hicks make the 1982 rendition of "We'll Meet Again Sweetheart" quite special.

The pioneer banjoplayer's contributions to Earl Scruggs Revue is documented in four tracks. "Nashville Blues," recorded in 1971 with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, was originally released on the seminal "Will the Circle be Unbroken" album. Scruggs' 1982 collaboration with Tom T. Hall is captured with "Song of the South."

Rich Kienzle's liner notes document the musical innovator's life. Bela Fleck adds a page of insight also. Earl had hip replacement surgery and suffered a heart attack requiring bypass surgery in October, 1996. It's very gratifying to read Earl's own extensive liner notes in which he concludes, "After eighty years, I am thankful that I am able to go out on the road and enjoy working concerts with more enthusiasm than ever." Every bluegrasser today should occasionally contemplate just where the music would be today without the likes of Earl Scruggs. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)