Different Roads [CD-single]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
The First Single to Be Taken from 'no Ordinary World'. Includes Two Exclusive Live Tracks Recorded in Berlin.

Tracks:

Different Roads
Old Train
Walk Through This World With Me
Gardens And Memories
Wait A Minute
Rebels 'Ye Rest
Last Train From Poor Valley
I've Lost You
Keep Me From Blowin' Away
Reason For Being
If That's The Way You Feel
Easy Ride From Good Times To The Blues
Pictures From Life's Other Side
Pan American

Album Description

The Seldom Scene were the trailblazing originators of "urban bluegrass," taking a music that was largely rural and Southern in scope, and making it accessible to a much wider and diverse audience. Their first seven albums are considered masterpieces and influenced a generation of roots-based musicians, including Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Ricky Skaggs. This new collection culls fourteen of their classic recordings, pulled from those landmark albums.

In a way this new compilation could be considered another "Best Of" collection, with three of their most requested songs--"Wait A Minute," "Old Train," and "Easy Ride From Good Times To The Blues" --featured here along with their fine treatment of the Norman Blake classic "Last Train From Poor Valley." This disc also gives us a new look at a few lesser known yet equally powerful performances including Starling originals, "Gardens And Memories" and "Different Roads," both featuring his distinctive, rich and soulful voice. In contrast, John Duffey's superb tenor is heard leading "I've Lost You," "Rebels `Ye Rest," and "Reason For Being."

Customer Reviews:

As innovative and indispensable today as it was back in the 1970s.......2007-05-02

Playing Time - 41:29 -- When the Seldom Scene first formed in the Washington, D.C. area in 1971, they chose their name because they planned to stay close to home and only play once or twice a week. Their first gig, The Rabbit's Foot bar, was a short-lived engagement because the bartender refused to turn down the television. Then, the band built a solid reputation by playing weekly at venues like Red Fox Inn (Bethesda, Md.) and Birchmere (Alexandria, Va.) All the while they were recording and releasing albums on the Rebel label. "Different Roads" is a compilation of 14 songs from three of their early albums (Act Two, Old Train, The New Seldom Scene Album) that were put out in 1973-1976. The core band included John Starling (guitar, vocal), John Duffey (mandolin, vocal), Ben Eldridge (banjo), Mike Auldridge (Dobro, vocal) and Tom Gray (bass). On this CD, Eldridge also plays Dobro-banjo on two numbers. Paul Craft's guitar is also in the mix on "Different Roads" and "Wait A Minute." Craft composed the piece entitled "Keep Me From Blowin' Away." Ricky Skaggs plays viola on "Different Roads" and fiddle on "Old Train." Mike Cuff's drums are heard on "Easy Ride From Good Times to the Blues" that also features Mike Auldridge's pedal steel. From a historical perspective, that cut, while not my favorite, still illustrates their ability to be a country band if they wanted to.

John Duffey once said, "I don't see anything wrong with trying to put new things into the music and upgrade and update it, which has been one of my ambitions. Something for years that I've tried to do is to bring new things into the music-- keep the music moving with the times rather than just lying stagnant." John's father had sung with the Metropolitan Opera, and Duffey's greatest mark was undoubtedly his soaring tenor vocals and distinctive stamp on the band's vocal arrangements. This collection offers about an equal amount of Starling's and Duffey's lead vocalizing. Besides some of their own original material (Different Roads, Gardens and Memories, Reason for Being), there are songs from the pens of Hank Williams, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Norman Blake and others.
Canadian songwriter Pauline Beauchamp's tale of a band on the road, "Rebels `Ye Rest," mentions burning eyes, lonely hours, and stormy weather. By 1976, the band was probably experiencing more of these undesirable things during their travels further afield. Herb Pedersen wrote Old Train, Wait A Minute, and Easy Ride From Good Times to the Blues. The band's smart execution is what really set them apart.

The Seldom Scene's formula was to find strong contemporary material, as well as put their own personalized stamp on older songs.
I always liked what they did with the Blue Sky Boys' "Sweetest Gift" (unfortunately not sampled here). Their material always exhibited considerable creativity, and their recordings had high sound quality. One could always argue about which 14 cuts to select from the three albums sampled, but these are Rebel Records President Dave Freeman's choices. I might've lobbied also for Paradise, Hello Mary Lou, Big Rig and their driving bluegrass rendition of "I Haven't Got the Right to Love You." There was also probably some business or financial reason that one of two cuts from the "Old Train" LP with Linda Ronstadt didn't make it into this set. Between "Old Crossroads" and "Bottom of the Glass," I would've suggested the former be included. Finally, it might not have hurt to include an instrumental like "Smokin' Hickory" or "Laura" too. My point is that I prefer to see compilation albums run about an hour, but then a fan might not feel compelled to go out and purchase the three albums sampled, right? There are plenty of great songs on all three of them that didn't make it onto this "Different Roads" project.

If you don't already own the three seminal albums that these songs are drawn from, "Different Roads" serves as a good introduction to the early and dynamic Seldom Scene. You'll quickly realize that the band sounds as innovative and indispensable today as they did back in the 1970s. Their creative approach has certainly contributed a great deal to the entire bluegrass "scene." (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

Fantastic grass.......2007-04-13

If you enjoy sophisticated and dead-on harmony singing in the bluegrass tradition, Seldom Scene is a group you will no doubt love. The group recorded 7 albums for Rebel Records in the 1970s and this CD re-releases 14 tracks from 3 of those albums: ACT 2, OLD TRAIN, and THE NEW SELDOM SCENE ALBUM. These early sides are superb examples of the "new" sound of harmony singing brought into bluegrass back then and the advanced, even jazz influenced (to my ears) solo and obbligato playing of the instrumentalists; the use of dobro is a tremendous advancement. The tunes DIFFERENT ROADS, REBELS YE REST, AND KEEP ME FROM BLOWIN AWAY are instant attention-getters, but just about every song here is a real gem. (Only EASY RIDE FROM GOOD TIMES TO THE BLUES is a misstep, mainly because of the employment of drums.) This CD contains a tremendous amount of great, great stuff; definitely grab it when you can.

Average customer rating:

Inspirational
Pretty fair!
"Mercy's Arms" is Perfect Music
Gladys delivers again!
Uplifting Spiritual Tunes

Many Different Roads
Gladys Knight
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000JC9U
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Tracks:

Mercy's Arms
Open Up Your Eyes
Precious Lord
Everybody
Mr. Love
What Would I Do Without You (Interlude)
He Never Will
Jesus' Love Is Like A River
Good Morning Heavenly Father
Many Different Roads
With A Smile
Saints Medley (Just A Little Talk With Jesus, By And By, When The Saints Go Marching In)
Worship You (Interlude)

Amazon.com

From queen of soul to Motown with the Pips to Diana Ross rival to the Columbia years to solo adult contemporary songstress, Gladys Knight has been entertaining us for five consecutive decades. In celebration of this mighty staying power, her relationship with the Heavenly Father, and her relatively recent conversion to Mormonism, Knight brings her fans Many Different Roads, a relatively slick album of inspirational numbers. Still in possession of one of the best instruments in the business, the singer holds forth with a baker's dozen of easy listening. While somewhat uneven and in no way up to the par of her early work with the Pips, this long-player serves as a worthy vehicle for both adamant Knight fans and Christian music collectors. "Mercy's Arms" is an elegantly wrought ballad, "Precious Lord" and "Saints Melody" tap into the deep well of traditional gospel, and "With a Smile," accompanied by strings and piano, recalls Dinah Washington's pop-jazz sophistication. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Inspirational.......2006-11-05

The song, Good Morning Heavenly Father seemed to start by day in a centered mind. I have an excerpt program into my wake up call.
Another, Many Different Roads (album title)reflects on Princess Diana, Mother Theresa and Gladys Knight's own and is a reminder of the different ways people go through our lives. Some known to many, others known to only you. It has a similar impacts as do Mitch Albom's books (e.g. The Five People You Meeet In Heaven). Others on the album bring to mind the memories of early Sunday School days.

Pretty fair!.......2006-07-29

I liked the album and will play it occasionally. I am a Gladys fan and I enjoy religious music. It wasn't everything I hoped for but I think others should judge for themselves.

"Mercy's Arms" is Perfect Music.......2006-01-01

Love it, great CD. Not all perfect, but "Mercy's Arms" makes up for some of the rest.

Gladys delivers again!.......2005-01-31

I have had this CD in my CD changer for the past 2 years since I purchased it from Amazon. It is not strictly a "Christian" or "Gospel" album. In the liner notes, Knight defines the album as "inspirational", therefore it has cross-over appeal to different fans of different backgrounds.

The opening track, Mercy's Arms really helps me get through rough times. Knowing that the Lord is always ready to lead and forgive me is comforting. I also love the classic Precious Lord as it is a reaffirming song that God is who I need to guide me and speak to me.

There are other songs that are not linked to religion but address the humane need to look after one another. Take a listen to Open Our Eyes and Everybody. These songs are about humanity and compassion. True life lessons can be taken from the songs if you listen closely to the lyrics.

My favourite tracks include Mr. Love (a song that was originally released on Knight's second solo album, "Good Woman). Knight re-recorded the song and gave it a freshly updated sound. I also really love He Never Will, Jesus Love is Like A River and With A Smile.

Every moment spent listening to this album makes me feel really good and blessed. I encourage you to pick this one up. Gladys delivers again. This is truly some of her best work.

Uplifting Spiritual Tunes.......2002-03-01

Great album by Gladys Knight. A model of classic praise music. Has become a CD that I put on to uplift me in times of sorrow. I have listened to the CD many, many times and I'm not tired of it yet. Although many of the songs are not her own creations, Knight performs them brialliantly. This album was released after Knight's conversion and entrance into the LDS Mormon church, but this album is not Mormon music. This album is simply great Christian music.