After working with
Doug Dillard and
the Country Gazette in the early '80s,
David Grier made his first album in 1988. With
Grier's reputation as a flat-picker on the rise, he attracted an outstanding cast of musicians for this recording, including mandolin players
Sam Bush and
Roland White and fiddler
Stuart Duncan. The first thing a listener will notice on the opening cut "Wheeling" is that, while this may be
Grier's album, the other musicians are given plenty of room for lengthy solos.
Freewheeling is based more in bluegrass and tradition than
Grier's later efforts like
Lone Soldier and
Panorama.
Grier has also written seven of the 12 instrumentals on this all-acoustic outing, including the lingering "A Blue Midnite Star," a melancholy piece that evokes a lonely starry night in the Appalachians. "Shadowbrook" flows openly, with a lovely fiddle solo by Duncan, and multiple solos by
Grier that continue to develop fresh phrasings.
Grier is a complicated soloist, never satisfied to complete speedy runs to gain attention; instead, he varies his solos with chords, unique phrasings, and straight-out picking. His solos are never scattered affairs, but colored and textured to create a whole. "If I Knew Her Name," also written by
Grier, is a relaxed instrumental that ventures away from the more traditional material on this album, hinting at explorations to come on later albums. The last three cuts feature
Grier solo and include a light and airy version of "Gold Rush." For lovers of traditional music and of great flat-picking,
Freewheeling is sure to please. ~ Ronnie Lankford, Jr.