GOOD BUT BETTER
Andrew J. Alexander | AUSTRALIA | 02/13/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"THIS IS TRUE TUT AND POSSIBLY THE BEST SOLO EXAMPLE OF HIS STYLE. OF COURSE, IF YOU THINK THIS IS HIGH PRAISE, WAIT FOR THE CD (RE) RELEASE OF HIS WORK WITH BUTCH ROBBINS, NORMAN BLAKE, DAVE HOLLAND AND VASSAR CLEMMENS. OVER TO YOU AMAZON!"
Simple but perfect
Nobody important | 07/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I keep coming back to this old gem. Tut Taylor is known as "the flat-pickin' dobro man." Most dobro players use a variation of Earl Scruggs' three-finger banjo picking style, with banjo fingerpicks. Tut is different. He uses a regular, old-fashioned guitar pick. That may sound limiting, and to be sure, Tut doesn't create the same kind of deluge of notes that Jerry Douglas or Rob Ickes does, but what really matters is which notes you play, not how many notes you play. Tut knows all the right notes, and he plays with a strong blues feeling that can be lacking from some of the overly-polished modern bluegrass. This is the perfect, stripped-down Tut recording, with backup provided mostly by just Norman Blake and Sam Bush. Don't let Sam's presence fool you, though. This is not a progressive, newgrass recording. It is closer to the old-timey sounds that Norman Blake usually plays, although much more up-beat than the type of music Norman has been recording in recent years. If you want to know how Doc Watson might sound on a Dobro, this is your chance.
Tut has a number of other recordings in this type of intimate setting, including a duet album with Norman Blake, and one with Clarence White. Both are good, but Friar Tut is his classic."