In addition to the Bon Jovi tribute we have mentioned recently, CMH Records had two other new CDs released last week. Both are compilation projects that offer a whole lot of bluegrass music at a bargain price.

The first is simply and appropriately titled, 36 Bluegrass Hits – and that’s just what it is. The tracks are drawn from previous CMH releases, and feature performances by Bill Monroe, Curly Seckler & The Nashville Grass, Marty Stuart, Jim & Jesse, The Osborne Brothers, Mac Wiseman, Lester Flatt, Don Reno, Jimmy Martin, Grandpa Jones and The Bluegrass Cardinals.

A complete track listing and a few audio samples can be found on the CMH site.

The other new compilation release is called Pickin’ & Singin’ – The Ultimate Bluegrass Collection, and contains a total of 64 tracks of classic bluegrass featuring many of the same artists listed above, plus Carl Story, Benny Martin, Arthur Smith, Josh Graves, Merle Travis, Paul Warren and Eddie Adcock.

You can also see the track listing online, but there are no audio samples for this one.

If you enjoy the music of the early pioneers of bluegrass, or find that your knowledge of their work is lacking, these two new CMH releases might be just the ticket.