Comments on: Album Review: Celebrating 50 Years Of Del McCoury

By: Jon

Jon — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:38:57 +0000

I’d forgotten about this review (it came out the day I left for a European tour) until just now, and I thought it was worth pointing out that, wasted materials and shelf space aside, the set offers 50 songs for $45, which is on the value side for physical product – it’s basically iTunes pricing. You can’t get any three of his single CDs (roughly the equivalent cost) that either contain as much music or measure up in terms of quality.

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:44:54 +0000

I still can’t figure out which is more improbable, that Del even made a bluegrass version of Richard Thompson’s folk rock “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” (a rare model as most were Black Shadows) or the fact it became “Bluegrass Song of the Year”! (lol)

Del always puts on a great show on the Opry and I got to see him open the show for Vince Gill at the Greek Theater a year or two ago and quite frankly I preferred Del’s segment over Vince’s. On the Randy Newman tribute album “Sail Away” Del’s cover of “Birmingham” is a highlight. I also hope he keeps it up for another decade or two.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:30:33 +0000

You never know with the advances in modern medicine these days.:)

By: Juli

Juli — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:24:36 +0000

The liner notes to The Company We Keep show a few little McCourys that’ll hopefully follow in the family business. But if we could keep Del–or just his head in a jar, Futurama style–around for another half century, that’d be okay too. ;-)

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:52:55 +0000

She didn’t say Del McCoury magic, just McCoury magic.:)

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:45:32 +0000

Another 50 years? Not sure how, haha.

By: Paul W Dennis

Paul W Dennis — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:53:26 +0000

This kind of thing really annoys me. I checked the playing times on AMAZON, and this is closer to 2.5 hours playing time than to 3 hours, meaning it could have been issued as a 2 CD set. This wastes materials, and takes up more shelf space than it should

By: Brady Vercher

Brady Vercher — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:31:24 +0000

I really like The Promised Land if you're into gospel bluegrass. Check out "Five Flat Rocks" from that album. "Get Down On Your Knees and Pray" is always cited as a favorite in various reviews. "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" by Del is one of my dad's favorite songs. I'm not much help when it comes to specific albums, though.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:18:20 +0000

I do have the Steve Earle album, which is very good. I’m willing to shell out for music, but I don’t know about booklets justifying $45 from me. So, while this set seems very interesting, I’ll probably go with some of your other suggestions for now. Who knows though, once I’m on a music buying roll…

By: Juli

Juli — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:14:46 +0000

By Request came out the same day the box set--it's a single CD of the most requested songs at DMB concerts. It's a pretty good starter if you don't want to drop $45 for the collection. IMO, you can't go too wrong when it comes to buying a Del McCoury album; I'm still working on amassing his entire discography when my budget allows. However, The Cold Hard Facts The Company We Keep and Del & The Boys all receive pretty frequent play on my iPod, though. Plus there's gospel record The Promised Land and The Mountain which they did with Steve Earle.