Suzanne, recorded in 1985 by Harley Allen and Mike Lilly, documents a pairing rooted in bluegrass traditionalism at a moment when the genre's commercial mainstream was drifting toward country crossover. Harley Allen, son of Red Allen and brother to Neal and Ronnie Allen, brought a deep family connection to hard-core bluegrass singing. The album's inclusion of Bob Dylan's 'Ain't Me Babe' alongside Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' signals a sensibility open to the broader American songbook even within a traditional acoustic setting. The album represents the kind of earnestly crafted bluegrass recording that sustained the music's committed underground audience through the 1980s.
Tracklist
- 1 Suzanne Source Recording 2:40
- 2 I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby alt version 1:55
- 3 Moonshiner alt version 3:03
- 4 Arkansas 2:59
- 5 No Mother or Dad alt version 2:41
- 6 Baby Blue Eyes alt version 3:59
- 7 Bill Cheatham alt version 2:10
- 8 Blue Night alt version 2:23
- 9 Seven Year Blues 3:32
- 10 Used to Be alt version 1:46
- 11 Chain Gang 3:18
- 12 Ain’t Me Babe Source Recording 2:22
- 13 I'm Always on a Mountain 2:26
