Sam Bush - King Of My World (CD, 2004)

by Joe Ross, 05/24/2004

Sam Bush has always been somewhat of a maverick, an independently minded musician who isn’t necessarily constrained by the traditional sideboards of bluegrass. While many appreciate his innovation and creativity, some will always struggle with and question his use of drums, piano, organ and electric instruments on this project. My advice to them is to take their blinders off. Bush associates himself with some excellent musicians, and the songs aren’t so far out there that this is rock music after all. He follows his own muse and explores a jamgrass territory into Americana that melds new sounds with old, spicing them with electric flavors that invigorate his acoustic spirit. His primary picking pals include Jon Randall Stewart (guitar), Byron House (bass), Chris Brown (drums), Brad Davis (vocals, guitar, BradBender). Others that appear include Reese Wynans (piano or organ, two cuts), Andrea Zonn (fiddle, one cut) and Larry Atamanuik (drums, one cut).

Bush collaborated last year with David Grisman on the project, “Hold on, We’re Strummin’,” but it’s been about four years since Sam put out his last solo album called “Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride” in 2000. “King of My World” pulls from many genres from bluegrass to jazz, reggae to country. The
mountain consciousness is most apparent on a couple tracks (Puppie ‘N Knapsacks, Eight More Miles to Louisville) that Sam even picks banjo on. I never knew he could do that. “Bananas” is an instrumental with a distinctly Latin jazz feeling. The band really rocks on “Spirit is the Journey” written by Johnny Clegg, while the bluesy downstrokes on his mandolin drive Ed Snodderly’s composition, “Majestic.” The album even closes with a swingy self-penned “The Wizard of Oz,” presumably a tribute to the great St. Louis Cardinals shortstop, Ozzie Smith. An avid Cardinals fan, Sam collects
baseball memorabilia, has a dog named “Ozzie,” and even performed the national anthem in 2002 at a Cardinals home game.

Besides mandolin and banjo, Bush also offers some hot licks on slide mandolin, slide guitar, guitar, and fiddle to various tracks. Six of the eleven songs each span five minutes or longer, and this gives the arrangements plenty of room to breathe with dynamics and instrumental improvisations. Speaking of eleven, that’s the age that Bush started playing mandolin. By age 19, he was involved with the New Grass Revival which turned a lot of heads until their breakup in 1990. Bush, of course, went on to be a member of Emmylou Harris’ “Nash Ramblers” from 1990-94, then toured for a year with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Bush’s first solo album hit the streets in 1996, and “King of My World” is now his fourth solo release. He also maintains a very hectic schedule of touring, as well as recording with others.

“King of My World” continues his high-energy unfettered approach to music that refuses to be restricted by certain boundaries. While a staunchly traditional bluegrass fan will find little to please them here, others with more open musical minds will realize that Sam Bush’s eclectic music is
impeccably performed with passion, energy, spirit and even with a little humor thrown in. (Joe Ross)

Help Support This Site
When You Click Through
and Purchase at Amazon

Songlist:
1. Puppies 'N Knapsacks
2. A Better Man
3. Eight More Miles To Louisville
4. They're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
5. Bananas
6. King Of The World
7. Spirit Is The Journey
8. Majestic
9. Bless His Heart
10. The Mahavishnu Mountain Boys
11. The Wizard Of Oz

Click here to visit Sam Bush website