BEATLE COUNTRY has had a strange history in the four decades since it was released. For years it was the subject of pointless diatribes by some self-appointed purists of Bluegrass. Later that discussion mellowed into less vitriolic but equally pointless discussions about what was coming to be called "crossover" (in all genres). Now at-last it's simply proven its merit & its staying power by the fact that somebody's liberated it from the dead corporate hand of a major lable & made it available on CD for all to enjoy -- without the argle-bargle over its "authenticity" or any any such silliness.
The choice of tunes is likeably quirky. I must confess that after all these years I've still never heard a couple of them in any versions except those by this band -- and I don't care-to, thank you very much. There's a wonderful sense of fun in the album, with no surrender of the high standards that ought to rule in Bluegrass. The sense of fun spills over into downright goofiness in one of the breaks for "Yellow . . ." sorry: "YALLER Submarine", though I certainly don't want to give away the gag to those who've not yet had the pleasure of hearing the disc.
The picking is great, indeed the mandolin break of "Help!" is one of my favourite few seconds of music of all time. The Dobro-playing by Craig Wingfield may leave many more listeners than I wondering how such a great picker could have toiled in comparative obscurity for so long. Well, as I wrote in a review of the Bray Brothers, there's no rule that the good guys automatically win!
I would commend this album to anybody w/ an ear for, or only honest curiosity about Bluegrass. It's as fresh as the day the first LP -- now a much desired, hard-to-find item -- was stamped. A caution, though, to people who might be coming at it from the Beatle/rock-'n'-roll side: it may let you down. Somehow I'm reminded of Thurber's immortal crack, "He's having all his books translated into French, because they lose soemthing in the original." If you have ears to hear . . .
If I have any complaint at-all about this album, it's that, like certain Spring days, & fine wines, & acts of love -- there's just not enough of it. But what there is -- well, y'all go for it! ( )