Full Sail
As bluegrass in the '90s seems to be returning to a classical approach rooted in traditional material and the fundamental arrangements of founders like Monroe and the Stanleys, Chesapeake pushes hard the other way, combining not only electric instruments like the pedal steel, but a whole range of folk, country, rock and jazz influences.  Something of a supergroup, the band includes well-travelled musicians Moondi Klein , Mike Auldridge, Jimmy Gaudreau, and Michael Coleman.  Their second effort is essential in large part because the material never fails: Tom Paxton's "Last Thing on My Mind," Norman Blake's "Last Train from Poor Valley," and the Carter Family's "Are You Tired of Me My Darling?" for starters.--Roy Francis Kasten