Posted by Tom Arvetis on June 11, 101 at 10:50:32:
Maybe two years ago, I told my friend Stan I was a bluegrass fan. He laughed, of course, when I blanched on the name John Hartford. "If you like bluegrass, you'll love this," he said to me as he slipped me a copy of "Aereoplane". "I wore out two vinyl copies of this album. The greatest bluegrass album ever made." I know some people, of course, who would take issue with that statement but I sure don't. I went home and fired up the stereo, sat back and let it wash over me like a tonic. It was like rediscovering something I had misplaced too long ago. People can really write songs like that? Well, not just anybody, of course. Just John Hartford. The next album Stan loaned me was a solo effort called "Mark Twang". How could one man be filled with so many sounds? This was the question I still ask myself. No tricks, no smoke and mirrors, just music. Pure, straight ahead, let-me-let-you-know-exactly-how-good-I'm-feeling music. Even though I never saw him perform live, I'm glad I discovered him when I did, can take solace in fact that the man was no myth. He was simply inspired. Thanks, John.