There are other recordings by this artist that might be better known, yet this is the title that fans of bluegrass fiddle most often seem to choose as the best by Vassar Clements. Other devotees of the 1977 Flying Fish release, actually recorded the previous year on the day that Jimmy Carter was elected, go further and proclaim that the album's title signifies more than it was intended to. The Bluegrass Sessions is the essential album in that genre, in other words, the one to take to a desert island or wherever else people flock to with extremely truncated record collections. Arguing against that point of view would be those that consider a drum set on a bluegrass recording an abomination, enough to make Jesus Christ come down off the cross. The presence of brothers Bobby Osborne and Wynn Osborne on the session could then turn the discussion into a personal vendetta since it was their band that was early on in introducing just such instrumentation into the bluegrass scene, bringing up the volume of PA mixes at festivals in the process. Like most dogma associated with critical opinion, however, something of an impasse has to be reached attempting to reconcile this notion of the Osborne clan as traitors to the cause when every time the brothers open their mouths to sing such sweet sounds come out. The version of Bill Monroe's It's Mighty Dark is mighty magnificent, bluegrass as pure as its ever been planted and grown. Vocals as great as this on a Clements record from the '70s are also something of a relief, to be sure, since low points on other albums such as The Vassar Clements Band inevitably involve sidemen stepping forward to both sing and establish eclecticism: awful funk, mediocre Southern rock, wimpy whatever. Stylistic versatility would really be the only aspect of the Clements package that is missing here and some listeners might be whispering thanks for that. Sticking close to bluegrass aesthetics removes notions of rock jamming and jazz fusion that purists find irritating; the positive side is that it doesn't hinder Clements' playing at all. Bluegrass improvisation, which in this case has been opened up enough to include instruments such as the vibraphone as well the previously mentioned drums, is open enough to accommodate all of Clements' nuances of phrasing and attack. There's also great picking from guitarist Harry Orlove, pedal steel and dobro man Doug Jernigan, mandolinists Andy Statman and Bobby Osborne, and banjoist Jack Hicks. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

1		Reno Shuffle
2		Vasillee II
3		It's Mighty Dark to Travel
4		Stompin Grazz
5		Nine Pound Hammer
6		Six More Miles
7		Scuffin
8		White House Blues
9		Swingin Low
10		Rocky Top
11		Silly Millie

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