Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 16, 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2020 | |||
Studio | The Butcher Shoppe, Nashville | |||
Genre | Bluegrass | |||
Length | 55:07 | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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Sturgill Simpson chronology | ||||
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Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions is the fifth album by American country musician Sturgill Simpson, released on October 16, 2020, through Simpson's own label, High Top Mountain. The album consists of bluegrass renditions of songs from elsewhere in his catalog. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Simpson had expressed his desire to record a bluegrass album as early as 2017. Both volumes were recorded earlier in 2020 after Simpson had recovered from coronavirus; [5] he and the musicians on the record performed a livestreamed concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on June 5, 2020, as a promise to fans who raised nearly $250,000 for COVID-19 relief. [6]
Recorded at the Butcher Shoppe Recording Studio, the album includes various bluegrass musicians such as guitarists Tim O'Brien and Mark Howard, banjoist Scott Vestal, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and mandolinist/backing vocalist Sierra Hull. The album consists of bluegrass re-recordings of previous songs in Simpson's catalog, including not only those from his solo albums, but also those from the band Sunday Valley, of which he was a member prior to beginning his solo career. [7]
Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork rated the album 7.4 out of 10, stating that "As a country artist, Simpson is determinedly subversive; as a bluegrass artist, he’s incredibly conservative. There are none of the abrupt stylistic changes that made [ A Sailor's Guide to Earth ] sound as big as the world and none of the sonic experiments that made [ Metamodern Sounds in Country Music ] such a trip. Simpson can’t quite sustain a double album in this style, and Cuttin' Grass loses some steam toward the end. However, there are more than enough bracing moments here to make you wonder what Volume 2 will sound like". [7] Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4.5 out of 5 in the review for AllMusic, concluding that "Part of Simpson's appeal lies in how he blurs genres, so it's a bit ironic that this single-minded collection is one of his best records, but it is: it's an album where the joy in the music's creation is palpable and infectious." [8]
All songs written by Sturgill Simpson, except “Long White Line” written by Buford Abner.
Per Bandcamp. [9]
Musical
Technical
Weekly charts
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Charles Samuel Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival.
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John Sturgill Simpson is an American country music singer-songwriter and actor. As of February 2022, he has released seven albums as a solo artist. His first two albums, High Top Mountain and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, were independently released in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The latter was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, listed 18th on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2014," and named among "NPR's 50 Favorite Albums of 2014." His third album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, was released in April 2016 on Atlantic Records and was Simpson's first major-label release, later earning him Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards while also being nominated for Album of the Year. Simpson's fourth album, Sound & Fury, was released on September 27, 2019, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards. He released two albums in 2020 - Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 - which feature bluegrass interpretations of songs from across his catalog, and marked his return to independent music. His seventh studio album, The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, was released in August 2021. Simpson's style has been met with critical favor and frequent comparisons to outlaw country.
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