The Bluegrass Album

The men who got together to record this album in 1980 had all made their names playing everything from very traditional to very progressive bluegrass — but as its title suggests, this was their chance to play old-school songs in an old-school style. Lead singer and guitarist Tony Rice permits himself some jazzy licks but for the most part keeps things very trad on his solos; banjo player J.D. Crowe gets a tiny bit funky on his backup comping, but his solos are straight-ahead Scruggs-style fare. The songs are stone classics (“Molly and Tenbrooks,” “Blue Ridge Cabin Home,” etc.) and the vocals are tight, tight, tight.