Live at the Charleston Music Hall

Album Review

As Ricky Skaggs' career progressed, he steadily got more traditional in his aesthetic and approach. So, when he announces partway through his 2003 album, Live at the Charleston Music Hall (recorded over two dates in November 2002 in South Carolina), that the band is largely playing new songs, it may come as a bit of a shock to casual listeners, since everything sounds traditional — even Harley Allen's Internet-referencing "A Simple Life" sounds as if it was written years and years ago. Since traditionalism is celebrated, not shunned, by bluegrass musicians, this is hardly unexpected or a problem, even if it does give Skaggs' recent music a comfortable predictability. That familiarity is undercut slightly by kinetic energy on this record, since this superb band has enough energy to make the traditionalism sound energetic, even when it still sounds very familiar. All of which adds up to an enjoyable record that nevertheless embodies a paradox: It's nothing that the serious fan hasn't heard before, but only the serious fan will truly thrill on the nuances and interplay that make Live at the Charleston Music Hall worth a spin.