David "Dawg" Grisman deserves high praise from bluegrass fans for the extraordinary releases of his Acoustic Disc label. This anthology contains 16 tracks excerpted from the making of a dozen CDs for his company, most of which feature the mandolin great as either the leader or a sideman. There's so much good music that it's impossible to name favorites among
Grisman's quartet and quintet recordings or the various all-star meetings of bluegrass greats, though the meeting of eight different mandolin players in "Dusty Miller," the hilarious uptempo bluegrass rendition of
the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman," and
Grisman's duet of "I Don't Want Your Mandolins Mister" with the phenomenal guitarist
Tony Rice are not to be missed.
Grisman isn't present on two songs: the traditional favorite "Way Downtown" in a stirring performance by guitarist
Jody Stecher's quartet, and the late
Red Allen in a homespun duet with mandolinist
Frank Wakefield on "'Tis Sweet to be Remembered." Those who have every Acoustic Disc release featured on this disc will be tempted by the inclusion of a previously unreleased version of "How Mountain Gals Can Love," featuring the great harmonies and picking of
Ralph Stanley,
Ralph Stanley II, and
the Dawg himself. ~ Ken Dryden