Track Listing

1. Feast Here Tonight
2. What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul
3. Spoken Introduction
4. Who Will Sing For Me
5. Spoken Introduction
6. Soldier's Joy
7. Walk On Boy
8. Daybreak Blues
9. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
10. Pick Along
11. Spoken Introduction
12. What Is A Home Without Love
13. Doin' My Time
14. Earl's Breakdown
15. Storms Are On The Ocean
16. Down In The Valley To Pray
17. Banks Of The Ohio
18. Ridin' That Midnight Train
19. Spoken Introduction
20. Road To Spencer
21. Katy Hill
22. Foggy Mountain Top
23. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47439 in Music
• Released on: 2008-08-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Three Pickers brings together bluegrass legends Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs for the first time, capturing performances at a North Carolina concert for PBS's Great Performances series. It was a celebratory occasion, and this live session, supersaturated with hot licks and down-home warmth, successfully transmits the excitement of the event. For all the assembled instrumental expertise, it is the traditional vocals--with Skaggs leading the way--that make the music work.

The trio opens with the lively "Feast Here Tonight", featuring scintillating sounds from Skaggs's mandolin, Scruggs's banjo and Watson's guitar, before taking on the high, lonesome gospel of "What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul". Each member of the trio gets feature spots for his individual band, in addition to the dozen or so songs on which the three combine forces. Watson is joined by grandson Richard for a couple of country blues tunes before Scruggs, reinforced by his family and friends, takes over for two songs, showcasing his seminal banjo technique on "Earl's Breakdown". Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder also take centre stage for two songs, and, as if the litany of legends wasn't enough, fiddler Alison Krauss even joins the trio of principals for three songs. --Michael Point, Amazon.com

CD Description
This concert recorded for public television is a summit meeting of three of the most legendary bluegrass musicians around. Earl Scruggs pioneered bluegrass banjo technique, Doc Watson was the key bluegrass guitarist of the '60s, and Ricky Skaggs spent the '70s and '80s bringing the tradition into contemporary parlance. Here they tackle a mix of traditional songs and original material, lovingly picked by all three, with a minimum of fuss and plenty of country soul. Singing and picking together, they are the ultimate bluegrass dream team; high lonesome harmonies and earthy-but-flawless instrumental runs are the rule of the day. During sections of the performance, each artist got a solo spot accompanied by his own musicians, but it's the trio material that's truly awe-inspiring, displaying the simple majesty that's at the heart ofthe best bluegrass.

Customer Reviews

Three gnarly legends
Vintage stuff from these veteran bluegrass musicians. Wonderful harmonised vocals, and some of the best pickin' you'll ever hear.

A work of bluegrass art!
In December of 2002, three legends of bluegrass sat down to do some picking - Earl Scruggs (on banjo), Doc Watson (on guitar), and relative newcomer Ricky Skaggs (on mandolin). It was aired on the American Public TV program Great Performances, and it certainly was that! This is a great CD, a work of bluegrass art.

The music is absolutely wonderful to listen to, sure to be enjoyed by any bluegrass fan. I love listening to this album, and highly recommend it to you!

Great Accoustic listening experience
I'm a long-time Ricky Scaggs fan anyway but this set of performances really shows-off his picking talents. Having Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs with him was a real bonus - they all have unique picking styles that are very complementary.

I have really enjoyed listening to these three legends - doesn't get any better than this.