CD REVIEW - Siamese Cousins - 2 Chairs, No Waiting

By: W.J. Hallock

Siamese Cousins - 2 Chairs, No Waiting

Released: Sept. 2012

Label: Mountain Roads Recordings

I have been very lucky since Brian McNeal asked me to start reviewing new bluegrass CD releases for Prescription Bluegrass. My intake of new music has increased drastically! And I’ve been at it long enough now that I’m starting to do follow up’s on previous reviews and artists, which only adds to the pleasure.

Such was the case when I received a new disc from Mountain Roads Recordings called “2 Chairs, No Waiting” by SIAMESE COUSINS. Edwin Lacy, on vocals and claw hammer banjo, and Scott Freeman on vocals, mandolin, fiddle, guitar and bass, are the “SIAMESE COUSINS” in question. The name comes from the fact that Edwin and Scott have been playing together for so long, in one musical incarnation or another, that they consider themselves “joined at the frets.” NOW I get it! Works for me!

CD REVIEW – Ry Cooder - Election Special

By Dan King

Ry Cooder - Election Special

Label: Nonesuch Records

Released:  August 2012

Woody Guthrie did it. Pete Seeger did it. Joan Baez did it. Musical artists down through time have enlisted their craft to make a political point or foster social change. August 2012 found Ry Cooder carrying on that tradition with the release of his latest short play CD – “Election Special.”

“Election Special” is a poignant view of political issues that were hot leading up to the 2012 presidential election, many of which promise to hang around if the post-election turmoil is any indication. Within this work, Cooder utilizes traditional roots music instrumentation and his rough but sincere vocal styling to weave his way through nine original compositions that absolutely drip with musical genius and political insight. Hailing from a generation that started off wanting to change the world but somehow got lost along the way, Cooder is as radical and focused as any 60’s cause artist on “Election Special.”

CD REVIEW - The Grass Cats - The Mountains My Baby and Me

By: W.J. Hallock

The Grass Cats - The Mountains My Baby and Me

Record Label: New Time Records

Released: July, 2012

     Sometimes I just can’t help myself….. I’ll make sure the CD’s I want to review are all in a neat, orderly pile, and I try soooo hard to listen to them in the order they arrive at my doorstep. I’m a lucky man, there are lots of CD’s to choose from. Then my schedule gets all messed up, because sometimes, one shows up and I’ve already heard some of the artist’s previous music, and I just get nosey. So much for good intentions…….

      The first track that I listened to off  The Grass Cats newest CD, “The Mountains My Baby And Me,” is called LIFE IN THE MINES. I’m a sucker for coal minin’ songs, so I thought I’d check out just this one tune and then get back on schedule. So much for makin’ schedules….. There are seven original songs by Russell Johnson, lead singer and mandolin player, on this thirteen song disc. LIFE IN THE MINES is co-written with Gary Whitt, and it is one dy-no-mite song! A sad, mournful minor key gem with great lyrics, harmony, twin fiddles, dobro and passion in it’s presentation, I was hooked and had to give in and listen to more.  So much for makin’ this CD wait it’s turn…….

CD REVIEW - The Yankee Rebels – Flight of the Phoenix

By: W.J. Hallock

The Yankee Rebels – Flight of the Phoenix

Label: Ampersand Records

Released: August, 2012

If you love three part vocal harmony like I do, then you’re going to love the new CD “Flight Of The Phoenix” by The Yankee Rebels. Their harmony is super! If you love a five piece bluegrass band with traditional instrumentation, you’re going to love it, too.

Their “pickin’” is as good as their singing! They’re good, and they should be….. they’ve been playing together since FOREVER! Open up the liner notes and you’ll find pictures of them when they started in the ‘60’s, more pictures from the 70’s and ‘80’s and right on up to today. This band is obviously committed and dedicated, and from the total sound of this recording, they’re only getting better with time. No stagnation due to longevity here!

CD REVIEW - Ricky Skaggs - Music To My Ears

By: W.J. Hallock

Ricky Skaggs - Music To My Ears

Skaggs Family Records

Released Sept. 2012

Ricky Skaggs is one of the most consistently excellent, continually relevant and important artists still passionately making quality music in Nashville today. His ever faithful fan base, his influence on up and coming young musicians, his awards, accolades and number one hits on the charts make his career historic. With his newest release , MUSIC TO MY EARS, it’s obvious that Mr. Skaggs has no plans to just rest on his laurels.

      Produced by Ricky, and recorded at his Skaggs Place Studios, this could be his finest studio work ever. Excellent song choices, top shelf musicianship, a surprise guest that brings HIS A-Game to the project, production that is absolutely dead on and Ricky bringing 150% of his considerable talents to this recording all make it a guaranteed winner.

CD REVIEW - Byron Berline - Jammin' With Byron

By Dan King

Byron Berline - Jammin' With Byron

Double Stop Music

Released: August, 2012

Byron Berline loves to play the fiddle. You can tell. There is a contagious energy that comes off his strings when he is bowing that sounds simultaneously athletic and poetic. Witness the impressive display of fiddle gymnastics that starts on the first tune of his new CD, “Jammin’ With Byron” and continues all the way through the 22nd and final track.

Twenty-two tunes would amount to an entire recording career for some musicians, but Byron and his large band of fine picking friends have compiled that many on this one single CD. It is a project that seems destined to become a textbook on old-time fiddle playing for generations to come.

CD REVIEW - Geoff Union - Cold As Steel

By: W.J. Hallock

Geoff Union - Cold As Steel

Label: Shining Castle Music

Released: May 2012

Austin, Texas singer/songwriter and guitarist Geoff Union sent me his new solo CD “Cold As Steel,” and my first impression was that instrumentally, this music was some of the best “front porch pickin’” I’d heard in a while. Surrounding himself with some of Austin’s finest musicians, it’s relaxed and comfortable, but still tight and energetic.

Geoff used to be a member of Austin’s hot “Two High String Band,” that at one time included banjo super star Alan Munde. Billy Bright, producer and mandolin player on this project, was also a member of THSB. This recording was done at Billy’s Mando Cave Studio in Wimberley, TX.

CD REVIEW - The Roys – New Day Dawning

By: W.J. Hallock

The Roys – New Day Dawning

Label: Rural Rhythm

Released: August, 2012

Stop for just a minute and think of all the acts in bluegrass and country music that have been made up of family members….. the Carter Family, the Louvin Brothers, the Whites, the Isaacs, the Stanley Brothers, the Dillards, the Rice Brothers, the Gibson Brothers and so many more….. Now add all the duet partners you can think of into the mix, and it gets even more interesting! Vince and Patty Loveless, Porter and Dolly, Conway and Loretta, Alison and Brad Paisley, Tammy and George, and who could forget Lonzo and Oscar and Homer and Jethro!

CD REVIEW - Pa’s Fiddle - The Music of America

By: W.J. Hallock

Pa’s Fiddle - The Music of America

Inspired by: the 'Little House On The Prairie' books of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Distributed by: Compass Records

The Little House On The Prairie books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the television series starring Michael Landon, are a multi-generational phenomena that have, and will continue to, affect American culture and history in the decades to come. In my own household, our children were raised on a steady diet of the books and the TV show, and their Grand Mother, a Depression era child, loved the show and books as much as the kids did.

CD REVIEW - Old Crow Medicine Show - Carry Me Back

By: W.J. Hallock

Old Crow Medicine Show - Carry Me Back

Released: July, 2012

My son is an “old soul” when it comes to his musical tastes. The Dead, CCR, Tom Petty, Neil Young….. the sound-track of the 60’s and 70’s suits him just fine. But, he also has an inquisitive and adventurous side that includes all kinds of new music. And when he finds something that he likes, he usually shares it with me, and I end up a fan, too. Such was the case in the Fall of 2009.

We were going to visit him, and there was a concert set for that same week that he insisted we attend. He had seen this group two previous times and wanted us to experience his newest “favorite band of all time!” Always being up for a musical adventure, off we went.

CD REVIEW - Special Consensus - Scratch Gravel Road

By Dan King

Special Consensus - Scratch Gravel Road

Compass Records

March 2012

Chicago is a town known far and wide for its own special brand of blues. Many icons of the genre were spawned in the windy city including Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Howlin’ Wolf. Chicago is also the home of the baseball Cubs who have not won

CD REVIEW - Larry Stephenson - What Really Matters

By: W.J. Hallock

Larry Stephenson - What Really Matters

Compass Records

Released: June, 2012

An old Irish friend of mine from Belfast used to tell me: “Remember son, there’s just no substitute for class.” That thought kept popping into my head as I listened to Larry Stephenson’s new CD, “What Really Matters.” There is not one thing about this CD that isn’t first class, the song selection, the musicianship, the harmonies, the production, the packaging, the liner notes and photos.

ALL of it! It just doesn’t get any better than this folks…. And the reason is, it’s energy is all focused to surround and support THAT voice. That voice that is the very essence of bluegrass COOL. There is not a note out of tune, or out of time, not an inflection that isn’t necessary and the raw emotion is as thick and palpable as whipped cream. No braggadocio, just an honest down to earth conveyance of feeling.