With ample doses of talent, spirit, and charisma, Flatt and Scruggs rose to the popular peak of the bluegrass heap during their 17-year association with Columbia. With Lester Flatt's casual vocal style and Earl Scruggs's groundbreaking banjo technique, the Foggy Mountain Boys brought bluegrass into the country mainstream more so than either Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers. Disc one picks up where the legendary Mercury recordings left off. High-powered originals such as "Come Back Darling," "Head Over Heels," "Til the End of the World Rolls Round," and "I'll Never Shed Another Tear" add to their classic repertoire, while the spectacular instrumental rags and breakdowns showcase Scruggs's banjo prowess. Disc two finds the pair diversifying their portfolio, as it were, with readings of popular television themes and covers of everyone from the Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, and Johnny Cash to John Sebastian, Bob Dylan, Tom T. Hall, and even Shel Silverstein. --Marc Greilsamer
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