Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride

1	Pastor Mustard: Introduction 1:26
2	Girl from the North Country 5:17
3	Big Mon 2:20
4	Same Ol' River 8:59
5	Angel to Be 4:31
6	Speak of the Devil 6:58
7	Memphis in the Meantime 6:00
8	Lane, Spooky 5:46
9	The Ice Caps Are Melting 2:30
10	Lee Highway Blues 2:36
11	Pastor Mustard: Heen 1:36
12	Hungry for Your Love 2:57
13	Sailin' Shoes 5:11
14	I Put a Spell on You 4:57
15	Celebrate 1:08
16	Stingray 9:09

Barnes & Noble

Sam Bush is a virtuoso on the mandolin, a fine lead and harmony singer, a gifted composer and arranger, and a master of improvisation. All those aspects of his talent come into play on Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride, 14 songs recorded live over the last decade at the famed Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. These aren't your standard bluegrass tunes, though. From the opening treatment of Bob Dylan's "Girl of the North Country" through a hot hammering version of John Hiatt's rocking "Memphis in the Meantime" to the requisite Bill Monroe tribute "Big Mon," Bush shows the controlled yet unpredictable style that has infused his careers with the seminal crossover combo New Grass Revival and Emmylou Harris's Nash Ramblers. His own instrumental tunes, including "Spooky Lane" and the "The Ice Caps Are Melting," are riveting too. On the album's closing track, Bush and fellow ex-New Grass Revival member Bela Fleck take off on an extended jam combining Bush's "Stingray" with Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate." John Randall Stewart, John Cowan, and Jerry Douglas also sit in on this rollicking trip through Bush's fiery and unique style.

All Music Guide

With the release of Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride, Bush pays tribute to the legendary music festival, pulling together some of his finest live performances from the event, all taped during the 1990s. Accompanied by longtime compatriot Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Bush turns in an unparalleled rendition of Bob Dylan's "Girl From the North Country" and the music just keeps flowing free and pure. Speaking of special guests, the album is chock full of them, from New Grass bandmates Béla Fleck and John Cowan, guitarists Darrell Scott and Jon Randall Stewart, bassist Byron House, drummer Larry Atamanuik, and Subdudes alumnus John Magnie.

One of the album's finest moments -- and there are many -- comes at the end, as Bush joins John Cowan in a bass, mandolin, and vocal song on Lowell George's Little Feat staple, "Sailing Shoes." This one just has to be heard. It defies any journalistic description. If that isn't reason enough to check out Ice Caps, Sam Bush covers "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang on mandolin. Oddly enough, Bush pulls it off with his usual class and style, where many would fall flat on their face in a puddle of disco mud. Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride is another stellar release from one of acoustic music's true innovators. Michael B. Smith