All right, I finally got a chance to hear the GrooveGrass album (which is
now being released by Warner Bros), and I have to say I'm underwhelmed.
I'm open to odd musical fusions, but this attempt to fuse bluegrass and
funk falls mostly flat. It just sounds like two disparate kinds of music
were rammed together with no apparent purpose in mind. I've heard Chili
Peppers ripoffs that were more funky, and it sure doesn't make for
satisfying bluegrass either. Unimaginative beats, and a fella singin'
(GrooveGrass creator Scott Rouse) who sounds like he should be frontin'
some earnest '70s boogie-rock band. He's about as far from funky *and*
high lonesome as you can get. Compare this album to Greg Garing's Alone,
and you'll see how unimaginative and just plain lame this album is.
Garing has the musical and vocal chops to get away with his audacious
fusion of electronic dance music with country, bluegrass and rock.
Despite the big names helping him out, Rouse just doesn't seem to have
what it takes to pull it off.--don
