Bobby Osborne is a fixture in the modern bluegrass scene, and has earned his place among the genre's greatest legendary contributors. His latest album with the Rocky Top X-Press, Bluegrass & Beyond is, for the most part, a great collection of traditional-style bluegrass and fiddle-heavy gospel tunes.
Bluegrass' Best Guest Stars
Bobby Osborne is one of modern bluegrass music's greatest mandolin players, and he surrounds himself with other instrumentalists who are on par with his exceptional gift. The fiercely fiery fiddle solo that plays out of disc-opener "Let's Sing Our Song" (purchase/download) is an excellent example. The following gospel tune, "What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul" (purchase/download) features none other than Marty Stuart and Connie Smith. Later on the disc, he also welcomes highly decorated Rhonda Vincent and Darrin Vincent.Highlights and Fine Points
As already mentioned, there is some exquisite instrument play on this record. The fiddle and banjo discourse at the beginning of "A Wise Man's Mind Will Change" (purchase/download) is notable. The heartbreak on "You Can" (purchase/download) is augmented only by Osborne's sad and lonely mandolin picking.The one fall-back is "Hyden" (purchase/download) which aims for note play thick with dissonance but crosses the line from teasing dissonance to near-painful. That must be the "beyond" to which the album's title refers. Luckily it's followed by the far more palatable, harmony-driven "Shenandoah Wind" (purchase/download), whose fiddle solo sounds not unlike a soft, easy southern breeze.
