Album Review #24: Slorest Climbs Foggy Mountain
Flatt and Scruggs- Foggy Mountain Banjo (1961)
(listen along)
Ahh, bluegrass. A real joy to listen to. I know it’s not for everyone, but it has a special place in my heart. My grandpa used to play the banjo, and I inherited it from him back in 2011. This album was my grandma’s, and it eventually found its way to me.
Flatt and Scruggs were an instrumental part of the bluegrass revival in popular culture. They were one of the main bands to take a somewhat fringe genre into the mainstream in the mid twentieth century. Earl Scruggs in particular is probably the most famous banjo player, and revolutionized the instrument with his unique “Scruggs-style” three finger picking. The New York Times about sums it up with a quote on the back of the jacket: “Earl Scruggs bears about the same relationship to the five-string banjo that Paganini does to the violin.”
Slorest’s Rating: ★★★★★ If you’re going to have a bluegrass album in your collection, make it this one. There’s something so joyous and lively about bluegrass music that you can’t help but be put in a good mood! Earl Scruggs especially gives life to the album, of course. Listen to those fingers fly! My favorite song on the album is Cripple Creek, a standard of the banjo repertoire.











