Wheatstraw Suite – THE DILLARDS***

I’ll Fly Away/Nobody Knows/Hey Boys/The Biggest Whatever/Listen To The Sound/Little Pete/Reason To Believe/Single Saddle/I’ve Just Seen Her Face/Lemon Chimes/Don’t You Cry/Bending The Strings/She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune

Wheatstraw Suite was the album in which the bluegrass group The Dillards started to embrace a more commercial country pop sound. Half the tracks are original compositions, the remainder are contemporary covers.

“They somehow combined their bluegrass roots with country and rock, creating a masterpiece that sounds as fresh today as it did back then. These young men, then in their twenties, wrote songs that still endure today. It is filled with wry humour, deep understanding of the cycle of life, and love of the land.”

“Yes, you can 'hear the sixties' in this impeccable recording by The Dillards, but great vocal harmonies and virtuoso banjo picking never go out of style. One of the tightest ensembles of all time, The Dillards perfected a brand of eclectic bluegrasscountry- folk that has never been equalled. Wheatstraw Suite is short but sweet.”

“This is a nice balance between 60s pop music and traditional bluegrass that really does play out like a suite, starting with the short but sweet gospel standard I'll Fly Away and quickly transitioning into some of The Dillards' best songs.”

“This is a classic, one of the first bands I listened to. A unique fusion of baroque pop, bluegrass, folk and rock.”

“So good. the sound of bluegrass mixing with late 60s pop, the vocals, the playing, the songs - they're all here. This is the sound of something new and exciting that’s so well conveyed in these songs that its impossible not to get a buzz from listening to this. There's some real upbeat poppy stuff and some really gorgeous ballads.”

“Artful, sensible integration of pop-rock into country-bluegrass. The covers work, the vocals shine. Talent and vision well realized but kind of corny in places.”

“This album shows The Dillards, a bluegrass band, moving into a pop direction. Sounds like nothing else. It's hard to imagine it working but it does - phenomenally well as a matter of fact.”