LIVIN' WITH THE BLUES DELUXE EDITION

Vassar Clements

Livin’ With the Blues is the first all blues album from award winning fiddler supreme, Vassar Clements, and sadly but appropriately, his last recording. Throughout his illustrious career, Vassar earned a reputation as one of America’s greatest folk musicians, one of the architects of bluegrass music, Vassar always put the blues in bluegrass.

Produced by mandolin champion David Grisman with harmonica ace Norton Buffalo, Livin’ With The Blues teams Vassar with blues heroes Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Roy Rogers, Marc Silber and Bob Brozman.

First up is Skip James’ swampy "Cypress Grove," with Vassar’s lonesome fiddle accompanied by Bob Brozman’s National slide guitar. Elvin Bishop cleans house with his own "Dirty Drawers" and "That’s My Thing," while Oasis queen, Maria Muldaur gets low-down with Vassar on "Honey Babe Blues" and Bessie Smith’s "I Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle." Other highlights include Roy Rogers’ desolate take on Robert Johnson’s "Phonograph Blues," "Mambo Boogie" with the pulsating piano of Dave Mathews and the Booker T. Jones classic "Green Onions," given a new twist by Charlie Musselwhite and Vassar. "Rube’s Blues" features 19-year old blues guitar whiz David Jacob-Strain helping Vassar reinvent a bluegrass standard and Norton Buffalo brings it all home with a soulful treatment of his own "Don’t Stand Behind A Mule."

While Vassar Clements has often been considered the ‘bluesiest’ of the bluegrass fiddlers, it wasn’t until producer Grisman asked him if there was any kind of project he still wanted to do, the soft spoken septuagenarian replied "I’ve always wanted to make a blues record."

This Deluxe Edition was remastered in the Hi-Definition (24 bit, 96 kHz) format and includes three previously unissued tracks.

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