Rhythm & Bluegrass (Hank Wilson, Vol. 4), released in 2001, is a chapter in Leon Russell’s long-running country alter ego — the Hank Wilson series he began in the early 1970s as a detour from rock stardom into the music he grew up on. Here the vehicle is bluegrass: Russell’s piano and unmistakable drawl set against the classic New Grass Revival lineup — Sam Bush on mandolin and fiddle, Curtis Burch on guitar, Courtney Johnson on banjo, and John Cowan on bass. The twelve tracks run through country and bluegrass standards, “Bluebirds Are Singing for Me” among them, plus the Russell-penned title cut. The pairing is stranger on paper than in the ear — newgrass’s looseness suits Russell’s barrelhouse instincts, and nobody involved treats the material as a museum piece.
Tracklist
- 1 I've Just Seen A Face 1:44
- 2 Footprints in the Snow alt version 2:39
- 3 Columbus Stockade Blues alt version 3:03
- 4 I Believe To My Soul 3:13
- 5 Rough And Rocky Road 3:13
- 6 Mystery Train 2:48
- 7 When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold 2:07
- 8 In the Pines alt version 3:10
- 9 Open Up the Door 2:11
- 10 The Bluebirds Singing for Me alt version 1:50
- 11 Rhythm and Bluegrass 2:35
- 12 Pilgrim Land 2:39
