While Special Consensus was recording their 50th anniversary album, Been All Around This World, for Compass Records earlier this year, they invited Emmy-winning video director Joseph Spence to join them and capture footage for posterity. He interviewed the current band members, and six alums, about the group’s celebrated history, and all the roads they have travelled, most especially founder and banjo player Greg Cahill.
Spence turned in a roughly 18 minute overview of Special C, which Cahill says was special. “Special,” as in “Special C.” Get it?
“Recording Been All Around This World was a joyful experience. Having six of our former lead singers involved was magical. Although none of them were in the band at the same time, it felt like we had all been making music together for years. We captured some of the magical moments in the studio on video, and put together a short documentary that celebrates 50 years of Special Consensus. Appropriately, it ends with John Hartford’s I Wish We Had Our Time Again, the same song that ends the new album.
I feel so fortunate to have such lasting relationships with the many fantastic musicians and great people who have been members of Special Consensus over the past half century and I’m really excited to be sharing this mini-doc with the bluegrass community.”
We really get to know Cahill’s story, from Chicago beginnings and around the world and back, and the story of the band, in this enjoyable mini-doc.
Interviewed outside of Greg are current members at the time Greg Blake, Dan Eubanks, and Brian McCarty, plus former bandmates Chris Jones, Josh Williams, Rick Faris, Ashby Frank, Dallas Wayne, and Robbie Fulks. We also hear from producer Alison Brown and tracking engineer Matt Cole.
Well worth your time.
