When Moses Asch released American Banjo (which focused on the influence of Earl Scruggs' innovative three-finger banjo playing technique) in 1956 on his little independent Folkways label, it was the first ever full-length bluegrass LP. Asch followed it up with dozens more, and when Folkways became part of Smithsonian Recordings in 1987, Asch's bluegrass catalog was assured a quality label that would keep everything in print. The bluegrass music Asch released in the 1950s was a new hybrid driven by propulsive banjos and wailing fiddles, with astounding high, lonesome vocal harmonies, part string band, part gospel-spiritual, with more than a little of the blues to keep it grounded. Among the many highlights on this delightful set (the second bluegrass sampler the label has issued) are Fred Price, Clint Howard, and Doc Watson's three-part mountain harmonies on the spiritual "Daniel Prayed"; the more old-timey than bluegrass "Won't You Come and Sing for Me?" by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard; "I've Endured" by the late, great Ola Belle Reed, and the driving "Renegade" by Bob Everhart, which carries more than a bit of country in its DNA. Also worth noting are John Hartford's rhythmic fiddle plucking (which makes the fiddle sound a bit like a wayward ukulele) on "Miss Ferris," and Doc Watson's world-class flat picking guitar on "Sitting on Top of the World," a version of the old Mississippi Sheiks 78. There's a lot of soul in these tracks, and bluegrass has never sounded brighter or fresher than it did when Asch first took a chance on it some 50 years ago. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide