''The Bluegrass Sessions'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist Janie Fricke. It was first released on August 17, 2004, via DM Records. It was a collection of Fricke's most popular songs re-recorded in a bluegrass style. In its original release, the project received limited attention which prompted a re-release in 2012. Under the New Music Deals label, the disc was re-titled as ''Country Side of Bluegrass''. In its new release, the album received favorable reviews from critics and music journalists alike.

Background

Janie Fricke was considered by writers to be among country music's most successful female singers of the 1980s. Her singles reached the top ten of the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

country songs Country song may refer to: *National anthem, known as a "country song" in some languages * "Country Song" (Jake Bugg song), a 2011 song by British singer songwriter Jake Bugg * "Country Song" (Pink Floyd song), an untitled song by Pink Floyd from th ...

charts with regularity and she won several major industry awards. In the 1990s, she was dropped by her long-time major label and began recording music projects that were eclectic in style. This included the release of ''The Bluegrass Sessions''. Fricke first developed an interest in bluegrass music from friend (and musician)

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and ...

. He often shared bluegrass CD's with Fricke, which she became increasingly fond of. This ultimately led to the idea of re-recording her former 1980s hits in a bluegrass style as a way to get acquainted with the genre.

Recording and content

''The Bluegrass Sessions'' was recorded by Nashville producer Bill VornDick. Fricke trusted him with finding studio musicians for the project. VornDick brought in bluegrass session pickers including David Talbot, Randy Kohrs, Andy Leftwich, Glen Duncan and Jimmy Mattingly. The album's material was chosen by Fricke, along with VornDick who ultimately decided which songs from her catalog would work best for the album. "We talked about the songs and how they should feel for the album. It all came about through collaboration with Bil and the other people involved in it," she stated in 2012. The project was recorded at Quad Studios, located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. VornDick served as the album's main producer. Mark Watson served as its executive producer. The album was a collection of 13 tracks. Ten of the projects 13 tracks were re-recordings of Fricke's former hits from the 1980s. It included re-workings of the number one ''Billboard'' country songs " Don't Worry 'bout Me Baby" (1981), "

It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy" is a song written by Mark Gray, Les Taylor and Shawna Harrington-Burkhart, and recorded by American country music artist Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fric ...

" (1981), " He's a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)" (1983), " Tell Me a Lie" (1983) and " You Don't Know Love" (1983). It also featured re-recordings of the top ten ''Billboard'' songs "

Down to My Last Broken Heart "Down to My Last Broken Heart" is a song written by Chick Rains, and recorded by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in November 1980 as the first single from the album ''I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry''. The song ...

" (1981), " I'll Need Someone to Hold Me (When I Cry)", "

Do Me with Love "Do Me with Love" is a song written by John Schweers, and recorded by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in November 1981 as the second single from her album '' Sleeping with Your Memory''. The song reached #4 on the ''Bi ...

" (1981), and "

She's Single Again "She's Single Again" is a song written by Peter McCann and Charlie Craig and recorded by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in May 1985 as the first single from the album ''Somebody Else's Fire''. The song reached #2 on ...

" (1985). Also included was her first top 20 single "

Please Help Me, I'm Falling "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" is a 1960 song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair and first recorded by Hank Locklin. The single was Locklin's most successful recording and was his second number one on the country charts. "Please Help Me, I'm F ...

" (1978). The album's second track "Goodbye Broken Heart" was a new composition penned by Fricke herself. Also featured was a cover of the song "

Faithless Love "Faithless Love" is a song written by J.D. Souther and first recorded and released by Linda Ronstadt on her 1974 album ''Heart Like a Wheel''. Souther's recording appears on his 1976 album ''Black Rose''. American country music artist Glen Campb ...

" and a cover of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

's "

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...

". In the original release of the record, an extra disc was included that included a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "You Don't Know Love" and an interview with Fricke.

Release and critical reception

''The Bluegrass Sessions'' was originally released on Tuesday, August 17, 2004, on DM Records Nashville. It was originally distributed as a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

, along with a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

that featured two videos. A digital later appeared. The original release of the album received limited promotional, which ultimately drew little attention to the project. This prompted the album to be re-released in 2012 and re-titled as the ''Country Side of Bluegrass''. The album's track listing was identical for the re-release with the exception of an additional DVD. It was released on January 24, 2012, through New Music Deals as a

. It was later issued to digital platforms including

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

. Overall, ''The Bluegrass Sessions'' and the ''Country Side of Bluegrass'' received mostly favorable reviews from critics. In its original 2004 release, the album received one review from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Greg Adams, who gave it a 4.5 out of 5 star rating: "It is seldom a major event when a veteran performer re-records his or her old hits, but Janie Fricke's ''The Bluegrass Sessions'' is a happy exception. As the title indicates, Fricke didn't merely re-record her best-known songs -- she reinterpreted them with bluegrass instrumentation and completely new arrangements that differ considerably from the slick country-pop of the originals." In its 2012, reissue the disc received several more reviews. Jim Moulton of '' No Depression'' called it "a real refreshing sound" and found it to have an "excellent bluegrass style". ''Bluegrass Unlimited'' found the production of the 2012 re-release to be lacking at times while overall being a "well-played album". "In an era in which contemporary bluegrass continues embracing country and pop, those comments should not suggest that this recording is weak or lacking in interest. Janie Fricke still has a wonderful, flexible voice that can slide from growling to twangy to sultry to pop, and there are a number of good tracks," they concluded. Ken Tucker of '' NPR'' gave ''Country Side of Bluegrass'' a mostly positive response in his review. While he found that Fricke's voice had aged considerably, Tucker praised the album overall and ultimately found that she performed with "compelling emotion".

Track listings

Original release

Second release

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''The Bluegrass Sessions'' and

. Musical personnel * Janie Fricke - lead vocals * Luke Bulla –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

* Margie Cates – backing vocals *

Chip Davis Louis F. "Chip" Davis Jr. (born September 5, 1947 in Hamler, Ohio) is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller. Davis composed the music for several C. W. McCall albums, including the hit 1975 song "Convoy (song), Convoy". H ...

– backing vocals * Glen Duncan – fiddle, mandolin * Mark Fain – bass *

Johnny Hiland Johnny Hiland is a legally blind American musician/guitarist. Early life Hiland grew up in Maine, with an eye disease called nystagmus. He started playing guitar at age 2, played his first talent show at age 5, performed on Dick Stacey's Jamb ...

– guitar * Randy Kohrs –

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

* Bob Mater – drums * Jimmy Mattingly – fiddle, mandolin *

Judy Rodman Judy Mae Rodman (née Robbins; May 23, 1951)California Birth Index, 1905-1995 is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the mid-1980s, she was a successful recording artist; making it all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot C ...

– backing vocals * David Talbot –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

Technical personnel * Janie Fricke – liner notes * Roger Gibbs – photography * John Netti – assistant engineer * Deryck Ragoonanan – artwork, video editor/director * Bill VornDick – arranger, engineer, mixing, producer * Mark Watson – executive producer

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluegrass Sessions 2004 albums Janie Fricke albums