On the Boulevard

By the mid-1980s, there was no band more skillfully demonstrating how bluegrass and pop music could be seamlessly blended than New Grass Revival. Between John Cowan’s soul-country vocals and Béla Fleck’s constant and fluid transitions between Scruggs-style and melodic banjo picking, this band pretty much defined progressive bluegrass during the period. The title track of this album is perhaps the best illustration, but their cover of Bob Marley’s “One Love/People Get Ready” is right up there too.