The David Grisman Rounder Album

As bright and cheerful as this album sounds, make no mistake: it’s a warning shot across the bow of traditional bluegrass, and one of the founding documents of what would come to be called New Acoustic Music. Featuring such first-call players as Tony Rice, Bill Keith, Jerry Douglas, and Ricky Skaggs, it finds mandolinist Grisman playing a mix of standards (“Boston Boy,” “Cheyenne,” the exquisitely spooky “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hands”) alongside distinctly jazzy originals like “Waiting on Vassar” and “Op. 38.” It’s still one of the Grisman’s finest albums — and that’s saying something, considering how prolific he’s been in the years since.