Peter Rowan - Peter Rowan (1978)

This is the first album done solely by Peter Rowan and what an album. For those who love his Panama Red (bet that a lot of you newcomers did not know he, not Jerry Garcia, wrote this one!) you will find a whole new world opening up. This ain't your Pappy's bluegrass...but a wild and wooly adventure that is bound to appeal to anyone who decides to take that turn off the mainstream road and explore the many changes it has gone through. I remember Mr Rowan from his days with Bill Monroe, the late great Father of Bluegrass. He was a young performer then, learning the trade of a bluegrass musician...the ultimate in teamwork music...each part is important to creating that high lonesome sound Mr Monroe was fabled for. He later branched out and did Old And In The Way with Dave Grisman and Jerry Garcia...first highlighting Panama Red a la The Acoustic Dead. Twenty years ago, he went completely solo after stints with Seatrain to create this gem. So just find a sweetheart and a fireplace. Cuddle up. Fire this CD up and listen to "Outlaw Love", "Break My Heart Again", and "Midnite Moonlite" and take a magic carpet ride to the Great Southwest. While he does sprinkle a few of his tomes that shall I say, lionize his youthful love of the cannabis plant in "Panama Red" and "Free Mexican Airforce"....they are more amusing and funny than an exhortation to shall I say...inhale. All in all this album is totally timeless, fun and romantic and a must for any free-thinker's CD library...