
J. D. CROWE AND THE NEW SOUTH 'Holiday in Japan'
Those who have been following Bluegrass music since the 1970s (or longer) will recall the excitement generated by the early appearances in Japan of several of the top groups of the genre. It was a big thing for the bands that made the trip to Japan, as well as for the audiences there who were seeing live Bluegrass for the first time. There were trips by Ralph Stanley, The Country Gentlemen and the Lilly Brothers, among others, but surely one of the most successful was a summer 1975 appearance there by J.D. Crowe and his band at the time, which included a young Tony Rice as well as Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas. Several of the shows they did were taped and the Japanese promoter/collector soon after issued a couple of LPs on his "TOWA" label. The man behind all this (Robert Tainaka) died some time ago and the LPs that were issued (Japan only) are long gone (if not forgotten) -- in fact those records have become rare & expensive collector's items. We were thrilled to see this 2-CD re-issue that has been put out by Ricky Wasson ( a member of one of Crowe's later bands). ( Those who were active Bluegrass fans around that time were lucky enough to see what was very likely the best group that Crowe ever had). Aside from the music --which is great --the most striking thing about this record is the phenomenal and genuine excited reaction of the crowd: it will bring a lot of us back to the time we first "discovered" real Bluegrass. The 2-CD album is accompanied by a 28 page booklet of notes from a very interesting interview with J.D. Crowe that Brian Fesler did in 2010. The price of this set may seem a bit high, but it's well worth it as a historical document of highly enthusiastic sold out young crowds getting to see their heroes in person. EAST VIRGINIA BLUES, BUGLE CALL RAG, DARK HOLLOW, I'M WALKIN', FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, FREEBORN MAN, YOU ARE WHAT I AM, STONEY CREEK, SIN CITY, etc
RECORDED AT KUBO HALL, TOKYO JAPAN:
- VOLUME ONE: AUGUST 1975
- VOLUME TWO: AUGUST 30, 1975
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE:
- EAST VIRGINIA BLUES
- WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME SO
- STONEY CREEK
- GOD'S OWN SINGER
- BANKS OF THE OHIO
- ROLL IN MY SWEET BABY'S ARMS
- YOU ARE WHAT I AM
- BUGLE CALL RAG
- DARK HOLLOW
- SING CITY
DISC TWO:
- EAST VIRGINIA BLUES
- BUGLE CALL RAG
- YOU DON'T KNOW MY MIND
- FLINT HILL SPECIAL
- FREEBORN MAN
- NASHVILLE SKYLINE RAG
- MOLLY AND TENBROOKS
- I'M WALKIN'
- DRAGGIN' THE BOW
- FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
- TAKE THIS HAMMER
- BORN TO BE WITH YOU
- TRAIN 45
ARTISTS:
- J. D. CROWE
- TONY RICE
- JERRY DOUGLAS
- RICKY SKAGGS
- BOBBY SLONE