“It’s such a magical mysteria.”
— Def Leppard
Sturgill Simpson has a new independently released album. This time it isn’t hard rock like Sound & Fury. There is no anime, or at least none that I’m aware of. The album is another unique release that is like all previous albums of Sturgull’s, not like any of the previous. Cuttin’ Grass — Vol. 1, is a bluegrass album consisting of previous material from his earlier albums and a few tracks from his mid-2000’s days with Sunday Valley.
There are bluegrass renditions of several popular songs from the Kentuckian’s catalog. After giving the album of 20 songs a couple of listens, I must say, it keeps getting better. Just like the previous release, Sound & Fury, that was on repeat for nearly 9 months in the cab of my Ford Ranger. It was a lead-up to the era of the pandemic and hints of dystopia that we are currently in.
Like most of Sturgill’s releases there will be no radio play. His music, thankfully, don’t sound anything remotely like modern country music, which is usually sang along by drunken frat boys and 12 year old girls; sounding like a dubstep version of a Def Leppard album.
Sturgill seems to be in his element. Maybe, this is the way he always intended the songs to sound. By the time I got to Let Go, the spirit was already filling me. We are not even halfway yet. Turtles All the Way Down is a blasphemous masterpiece. You can’t really have a bluegrass album without mentioning Eastern Kentucky roots and that is accomplished with Old King Coal. Some of the songs have a line here and there changed from the previous recordings. I won’t mention them here as I don’t want to spoil anything.
Hence the the title. There probably will be other bluegrass releases in the future. Volume 2 or maybe 3. One could only hope.
