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"...Moody Bluegrass live was faithful to the fine cd, an almost note for note reproduction. How was it different? What made it special? The experience live was so multi-faceted. One could feel everything: the excitement and slight nervousness of the performers as they walked out onstage, the shared pleasure of the winsome vocals and the incredible, virtuoso performances heard and SEEN on every instrument. I felt awe and wonder at the sight of a stage so heavily laden with talent that it was a miracle it didn’t sink into the ground; instead it steadily rose into the sky. The instrumental artists were without exception top of the line, each performer a worthy and riveting soloist. My head swiveled back and forth across the stage, a few notes of dobro or guitar, mandolin, fiddle or banjo impelling me to seek out the spot where that heart lay on the stage, the live experience so far surpassing the recorded one that the two can hardly bear comparison. Tim May’s guitar work made me gasp, and I literally held my breath, unable to breathe, during his highlights. I was particularly taken with the fiddlers and their surprisingly lush sound and elegant phrasing. Every time I looked to my left, I saw a different fiddler, a series of incredible artists effortlessly plying their trade. Without a doubt, the single instrumentalist that stole the show and brought me to my knees was the producer of Moody Blue Grass, David Harvey. A warm and gentle man whose large hands trilled the mandolin held so closely against his chest that it seemed a part of him. The mandolin, the inspiration for Randey Faulkner’s vision, is what made the evening special for me and was the center of the Ryman stage..." Read Maggie May's review at: www.moodysojourn.com/tour/tour2005/nashville/nashville.html
What happens when Prog Rock is smacked upside the head with a banjo? Few will argue that The Moody Blues defined Prog Rock with 1967's Days of Future Passed; their robust touring schedule, sixty million albums sold and new projects (December, released in Fall 2003) have kept that genre alive for forty plus years. Executive Producer Randey Faulkner, a huge Moody Blues fan himself, was convinced that The Moodies music could be interpreted, in fact reinvented, in a bluegrass style. The resulting CD titled "Moody Bluegrass", shows producer David Harvey's delicate and sensitive touch. Rather than being purely a tribute album, the work jumps up and stands on its own: the lovely, powerful and sometimes whimsical melodies and lyrics written by the revered rock legends take on an entirely new look. It's as if bluegrass's finest musicians and singers came over to your front porch, toting their instruments and a six-pack. The original pieces were music you could dream to, the bluegrass interpretation is like coming home. So,
what happens when Prog Rock gets hit upside the head with a banjo? Source: 2005 Punmaster's MusicWire www.punmaster.com
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