Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute
to the Moody Blues
(Rounder)
First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2004, Volume 11, #11
Written by John Metzger
It would be a simple matter to dismiss Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville
Tribute to the Moody Blues as little more than a cheap ploy that is designed
to take advantage of both its subject’s classic rock stature as well as the
success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Yet, a quick glance
through the artists who participated in the project — which include Alison
Krauss, Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush, Alison Brown, Stuart Duncan, Larry Cordle, Lionel
Cartwright, John Cowan, Aubrey Haynie, and countless others — offers a hint that
the collection is far more than just a novelty recording. Indeed, the gap
between the Moody Blues’ art-rock and bluegrass music isn’t quite as vast as it
at first appears, and folk tunes like Land of Make Believe and It’s Up
to You fit quite comfortably within their new country-tinged framework with
very few modifications. Even more intriguing, however, are the revamped
renditions of Your Wildest Dreams, which is transformed into a stunning
slice of bucolic beauty, and The Other Side of This Life, which, when
stripped of its pop-ornamentation, reveals the song’s gospel-blues architecture.
In fact, both of these versions immensely improve upon the original arrangements
concocted by the Moody Blues, and the only track on the set that fails
completely is the sturdy concert staple I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock ’n‘ Roll
Band), which just sounds awkward and clumsy in its new environment.
Otherwise, Moody Bluegrass is a lovingly tackled tribute that achieves
its purpose of not only introducing two disparate audiences to something new,
but also having a whole lot of fun with it in the process. 
Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues is
available from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box