In honor of the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary, Town Mountain recorded and released Bluegrass renditions of two of their favorite Dead tunes. Released in November, The Dead Session was recorded at Echo Mountain Recording Studios in Asheville and contains versions of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” and “Big River." “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” was written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter and originally released on Wake of the Flood in 1973 while “Big River” was written by Johnny Cash in 1958 and often covered by The Dead. Jesse Langlais [banjo and vocals] explains, "The Dead kept the sentiment of ‘Big River’ but translated it to make an audience who may not have known what country music was love it. That audience for them was typically a younger more rock or jam influenced fan but they still ended up knowing the song and singing along.” Admittedly, I do not know much about The Dead, but what Langlais says of them is exactly what Town Mountain does here: taking songs originally by others and making them accessible and loved by a new audience. Filled with fiddle, bass and mandolin, the two songs are done the Town Mountain way: rollicking and hard-driving, with a made for dance hall feel, that will have you on your feet or tapping your toes in sync to the melody. Both Bluegrass fans and Deadheads alike should enjoy The Dead Session.
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October 2018
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