CD Reviews on projects by Bluegrass artists
Old Crow Medicine Show Paint This Town ATO While they started as a bluegrass band, Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) in recent years have won two Grammys and are considered one of our best roots bands, meshing Americana, old-timey music, folk, and rock & roll into an appealing sound that consistently sells out venues wherever […]
Cameron Knowler & Eli Winter Anticipation American Dreams Records Cameron Knowler and Eli Winter are young guitarists barely out of college that bear watching. You may recognize the latter’s name as we did cover his solo album, Unbecoming, last August. The winter holidays of 2018 found Cameron Knowler and Eli Winter touring through an interesting […]
Rising Appalachia Ley Lines Blends cultures and harmonies into pure bliss Patrick O’Heffernan The word “ley lines” was coined in 1921 by the amateur English archaeologist Alfred Watkins, describing the apparent alignments among historical and geological spaces, hypothesizing that they had persisted over millennia to facilitate travel, trade and community. Later, others theorized that global ley lines […]
Mike Daly Renascence Self-released Mike Daly is a steel player, as in pedal steel, lap steel, baritone slide, slide mandolin, Weissenborn, Dobro and steel drum, all of which he plays here. You have all that, right? Daly is known most, perhaps as the regular pedal steel player in Hank Williams Jr.’s and Travis Tritt’s bands […]
Andy Statman Monroe Bus Shefa This kind of review opportunity does not often happen. Mandolinist Andy Statman played at this writer’s wedding (Yes, that was ages ago) and at the time Statman was already a well-established musician who accompanied David Bromberg, Doug Sahm, Vassar Clements, David Amram, Tony Trischka, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead, […]
Back to the Basics, the newest album of original bluegrass music from multi-instrumentalist Pappy Biando is everything you expect and a few things that find you searching your own soul. Pappy’s music is consistently fresh, new, and familiar. His new album “Back to the Basics” is exactly that. Pappy is a young man with an […]
“All Things Must Pass” The rise and fall of Tower Records (96 minute DVD) www.MVDb2b.com – MVDvisual The death of Tower Records was a major blow for many of us who grew up purchasing vinyl LP’s, seven inch forty-fives and CD’, laser discs, and DVD’s. This triumphant and reflective DVD “All Things Must Pass,” is […]
Del McCoury Band Del & Woody McCoury Music Woody Guthrie (1912 – 1967) was a singer, songwriter and musician who wrote hundreds of songs. Many are today considered traditional but included were ballads, children’s songs and political tunes. Best known is his song “This Land is Your Land”. Guthrie was a big influence on other songwriters […]
Earls of Leicester Rounder Records My love for bluegrass began with Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys. Flatt’s voice, so laidback and clear, was the greatest American voice. He gave me an appreciation for a Bluegrass tenor and led me to discover other bluegrass and country music singers. As a youngster Scruggs’ […]
Hot Rize When I’m Free Ten in Hand Records Hot Rize, originally from Colorado, released their first self titled album in 1979 on the Flying Fish Record label. The band released six studio albums and disbanded in 1990 but not before being named the first “Entertainers of The Year” by the then newly formed International […]
The Roland White Band Straight Ahead Bluegrass Roland White Music In April 1964 World Pacific Records released The Kentucky Colonels Applachian Swing! The Kentucky Colonels were Clarence White, guitar; Roland White, mandolin; Billy Ray Latham, banjo; Bobby Slone, fiddle; Leroy McNees, dobro; and Roger Bush, bass. Clarence White had basically invented Bluegrass guitar picking. Alongside […]
Seven Handle Circus is extraordinary, literally. There is nothing about them that is ordinary. They use traditional acoustic bluegrass instruments but their sound is more pop than bluegrass, with amazing harmonies that recall R.E.M. more than Bill Monroe. Add to that the literary influences and references the Atlanta group, who met while attending Georgia Tech, […]
Robin and Linda Williams Back 40 Red House Records Robin and Linda Williams are a husband and wife harmony duo. They got their start on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” radio program in 1975. That year they also released their first recording. They were originally inspired by The Carter Family but have absorbed music […]
Rob McCoury The 5 String Flame Thrower McCoury Music Rob McCoury is the son of Del McCoury and the banjo player in The Del McCoury Band. “Kansas City Railroad Blues” is the hard driving vehicle that sets the stage for this album of mostly banjo instrumentals. The song credits include Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, J.D. […]
Del McCoury Band The Streets of Baltimore McCoury Music In 1963 Del McCoury was the rhythm guitarist and featured vocalist with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys. His replacement was Peter Rowan. He recorded as Del McCoury and The Dixie Pals and in 1972 released his fifth album “High on a Mountain” on Rounder Records. […]
The Seldom Scene Long Time….Seldom Scene Smithsonian Folkways Records John Duffey and Tom Gray were both members of The Country Gentleman, one of the best bluegrass bands of their day. Gray left in 1964 while Duffey stayed for five more years. In 1971 Duffey, mandolin and lead tenor vocals, formed The Seldom Scene along with […]
