The Essential Earl Scruggs is a great 2-CD collection of 38 years of great Scruggs music. This was my first all-Scruggs collection, and I still listen to it almost every day! I would recommend this to any bluegrass fan just discovering the wonderful sound of Earl's awesome banjo! But be warned, many of the songs on the "Foggy Mountain Jamboree" album are also in this collection, so buying that album would only gain you a handful of new tracks.
This collection begins with Earl's first recording with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, "Heavy Traffic Ahead" which (according to Earl in this Collection's Linear notes book) was written after they began to kid Lester Flatt about the "Heavy Traffic Ahead" sign in Flatt's small hometown of Sparta. The next two tracks are also with Bill Monroe, recorded between '46 and '47. Next comes a long line of Flatt And Scruggs recordings that take up the rest of disc one, beginning with "Down The Road" which features Earl's banjo as the only lead instrument.
This collection wouldn't be essential without one rendition of Foggy Mountain breakdown, and this has it! Following "Down The Road," we get the original 1949 recording (and perhaps the best rendition) of Earl's famous breakdown. Although Earl is most renown for his banjo, his guitar also played a role in the wonderful music of Flatt and Scruggs, and Earl's guitar is recognized as part of this collection with "Jimmie Brown, The News Boy" and "Georgia Buck."
This collection has a great assortment of instrumentals, allowing Earl's banjo to take the spotlight, unencumbered by vocals. "Pike Co Breakdown", "Earl's Breakdown" (Earl's Signature tune, recorded with the tuning section by ear), "Dear Ol Dixie" (my personal favorite Earl Scruggs instrumental), "Flint Hill Special," and "Shuckin The Corn" just to name a few.
The Second Disc begins with two tracks with Hylo Brown from the 1959 Newport Folk Festival, which Earl has called the only concert he perform without Lester during that time period. These two tracks ("John Henry" And "Cumberland Gap") are the only live tracks in this collection, and they display Earl in top form. Three tracks for the classic "Foggy Mountain Banjo" album are included, along with the legendary "Ballad Of Jed Clampett" before the collection to Earl more progressive years with the Earl Scruggs Revue, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and even Johnny Cash, who indicated himself as a long time fan of Earl's banjo picking.
This collection does have a slight down-side (the singing in "I Saw The Light" isn't very good), but the good far out weighs the bad, especially if you are a fan of Flatt And Scruggs, The Earl Scruggs Revue, and Earl's solo career.
In short, if your looking for some great picking from a legendary banjo master, don't hesitate to buy this collection!
SONG LIST (* = Highlight)
Disc One:
(with Bill Monroe and the BG Boys)
1. Heavy Traffic Ahead
2.It's Might Dark For Me To Travel
3. Molly and Tenbrooks
(With Flatt and Scruggs)
4. Down The Road*
5. Foggy Mountain Breakdown*
6. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms
7. Old Salty Dog Blues
8. Pike County Breakdown*
9. Come Back Darling*
10. Don't Get Above Your Raising
11. Jimmie Brown, The Newsboy*
12. Earl's Breakdown*
13. Get In Line Brother*
14. Dear Ol Dixie*
15. Flint Hill Special*
16. Foggy Mountain Chimes*
17. Till The End Of The World Rolls Round
18. Foggy Mountain Special*
19. Randy Lynn Rag*
20. Shuckin' The Corn*
Disc Two:
(with Hylo Brown and The Timberliners)
1. John Henry - Live*
2. Cumberland Gap - Live*
(With Flatt and Scruggs)
3. Cripple Creek*
4. Rueben*
5. Sally Goodin*
6. Foggy Mountain Top
7. Georgia Buck*
8. John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man*
9. The Ballad Of Jed Clampett*
10. Nashville Skyline Rag
(With The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
11. Nashville Blues*
(By Earl Scruggs)
12. I Saw The Light
(By ESR)
13. Some Of Shelly's Blues
(By Earl Scruggs)
14. Peking Fling
(By ESR)
15. I Shall Be Released
16. Stash It
(By Earl and Tom T. Hall)
17. Song Of The South
(By ESR)
18. I Still Miss Someone (W/Johnny Cash)
(By Earl Scruggs)
19. We'll Meet Again Sweetheart
20. American-Made, World Played*
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