Decade Waltz (1979)

Decade Waltz

• One of my favorite albums of all time, this is one I listen to over and over again. It’s filled with such great harmonies and sounds, and the Dillards really outdid themselves. I like talking about this album because most people aren’t familiar with who the Dillards are, so I get to have a chance to enlighten them. They were most well known for being the Darlings on the Andy Griffith Show, so you may remember them if you’ve seen that. Anyways, this is truly a great album. The majority of it is bluegrass, but it also has slight contemporary spin to it. It’s a very relaxing but also energetic feel, with some songs that make you tap your foot, and some that remind you of the important things in life. The album starts off with “The Ten Years Waltz”, which is a hauntingly beautiful prelude. It sets the tone for the rest of the music to come, and you actually get to hear more of it throughout the album. The second track is “Greenback Dollar”, which is where you hear the contemporary bluegrass sound that the group has. “Easy Ride” follows that, which has some insanely good harmonies. This is one of the songs where you hear their really smooth voices, and it all flows together perfectly. That track is followed by “Headed For The Country”, which is a beautiful, slow paced song of lament. To me, it’s one of the most relaxing and sad songs ever written, and it was sung so well. It also has some extremely beautiful chords, and the actual music is what makes it so good. “Gruelin’ Banjos” follows up and changes the pace from the previous song. It gives you a lively, foot-tapping bluegrass feel. It’s also one of my favorite instrumental songs of all time. You then get “Turn It Around”, which continues the amazing harmonies and more contemporary feel of bluegrass. “10 Years Waltz” follows, which is almost an exact repeat of the opening prelude. This song starts off the B side of the album, so it gives you a quick break from everything you’ve heard, and starts you fresh. The second track of the B side is “Hymn to the World”, which is happy and bouncy, and once again, introduces you to even greater harmonies. The latter half of this side is really strong, with a really joyous track called “Happy I’ll Be”. To end the album, you get a fantastic cover of “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles. You might not think a cover version of any Beatles song will be great, but this version by the Dillards is amazingly good. It somewhat has the old Beatles sound, but it also mixes in the country/bluegrass sound to it. Overall, this album is close to perfect, and I would highly recommend it to everyone, even if you don’t like bluegrass. This album is officially Berry Approved, so go give it a listen!