The Bottom Line
Pros
- "Jamie's Cryin'"
- "Ice Cream Man"
- "I'll Wait"
Cons
- "Panama"
Description
- Two tracks feature (excellent) vocals by former Van Halen front man, David Lee Roth.
- Contains tracks by such bluegrass greats as Larry Cordle, Iron Horse, and Cornbread Red.
- A chance to catch all those great Van Halen lyrics you may have missed the first time around.
Guide Review - Various Artists - Strummin' With the Devil
The novelty of making heavy metal/hard rock songs into awesome bluegrass songs hasn't worn itself thin. At least, not on me. I love 'em all, from Dwight Yoakam's amazing mountain version of The Clash's "Train in Vain" to the inestimable Hayseed Dixie discs, nods to AC/DC and Kiss, respectively. Of course, when I was growing up in the 70's, these kinds of songs were my brother's music, not mine. I didn't realize how good they were until I was older and came to appreciate the subtle genius of Eddie Van Halen (which is about the only thing missing from this terrific little collection).Some of these songs, with all their nudge-nudge-wink-wink innuendo, make terrific mountain songs, such as the very overt "Ice Cream Man"; some just FIT the mountain sound, such as "I'll Wait" and "Jamie's Cryin'," while others seem a little out of place. "Panama" is the one that strikes me as the least likely choice, and "Hot For Teacher," likewise, seems just a little off, somehow, but in the case of the former, I have to admit it's the first time I've actually understood all the lyrics. But "Ain' Talkin' 'Bout Love" sounds like it was written for mountain musicians in the first place.
I'll freely admit this kind of thing just isn't for everyone. I know there are those who don't want to "sully" their country music with rock and vice versa, but the simple truth is rock and roll grew out of country music, was originated and founded by country boys, and that's really why it works.