As the most influential fiddle-playing Texan, Benny Thomasson is basically also the father of modern contest fiddling, and a powerful influence on contemporary players such as Mark OΓÇÖConnor. Drawing on both the western swing of his young-adult years and the hard-and-fast rules of traditional fiddling, he created a clean, intricate style that turned fare such as ΓÇ£Jack Of DiamondsΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Billy In The LowgroundΓÇ¥ into a whole ΓÇÿnother thing (he also contributed at least one modern standard, the lush waltz ΓÇ£Midnight On The WaterΓÇ¥). ThomassonΓÇÖs celebrated long-bow technique yielded a sweeping, smoother sound that rendered obsolete the slurs of Appalachian fiddling. He varied the traditional warhorses ΓÇö but not too much ΓÇö by playing slight variations on the melody, and by turning conventional two-part fiddle tunes into multi-part extravaganzas. And he tailored his music to the contest format, developing a distinct repertoire that was unlike what he might play at social gatherings (where the audience would be less concerned with judge-pleasing technique and more attuned to something that got them dancing). Because Thomasson was never a commercial performer, these twenty tracks (including two live) from 1966 to 1969 are the backbone of his recorded output ΓÇö definitely a feast for fiddle fanatics, albeit more like eat-your-broccoli fare for many others. - John Morthland