Prescription Bluegrass CD REVIEW – Vincent Cross - A TOWN CALLED NORMAL

These days the term “Bluegrass” encompasses a broad range of musical expressions. From the down home, gutsy realism of first-generation entertainers like Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs to the more refined sounds of Alison Krauss to the outer fringes of what is technically and musically possible and still retain some semblance of the core sound. It is indeed a broad genre that continues to give birth to new broods.

All that said, “A Town Called Normal,” in my opinion, does not fit into any honest, objective interpretation of Bluegrass music. Does it have a banjo on most cuts? Yes. Is there a mandolin? Sometimes. However, those characteristics alone do not a bluegrass band make.

Prescription Bluegrass Reviews Kim Robins’ - 40 Years Late

Kim Robins project, “40 Years Late”, is a breath of fresh air.

It appears that Kim has spent her time not only honing her craft, but also finding her voice and knowing exactly who she is as a singer.

You will not hear someone trying to imitate other female singers, or singing in the rafters, on this recording. Instead, you will hear a woman with a mid-range, bluesy, voice that puts you in the mood for some good traditional bluegrass and classic country.

Mark Raborn Reviews Rebecca Frazier’s WHEN WE FALL

     Rebecca Frazier’s new CD “When We Fall” features twelve tracks, of which ten are original compositions including three instrumentals.

The project is superbly supported throughout by a strong producer and by a stellar cast of musicians that largely need little introduction, including Ron Block and Scott Vestal on banjo, Barry Bales on bass, Shad Cobb on fiddle, Andy Hall on resonator guitar and husband John Frazier on mandolin. Rebecca plays guitar on all cuts.

Rita Small Reviews Peter Rowan – “The Old School”

It is 2am and something draws me from bed and compels me to begin writing this review. Not in the usual way, no laptop, no touchpad, all I need is a notebook and a pen. I know, sometimes the old school way is just better.

Nevertheless, why does this assignment need to be handled in this manner? Has the project I have been listening to for the past weeks rubbed off on me? Or, as I suspect, will paper and pen make it easier to follow my ramblings through the inevitable editing process necessary when the time comes to finally convey my thoughts to the laptop about this simple yet profoundly complex project that Peter Rowan has compiled.

CD Review - The Gibson Brothers - “THEY CALLED IT MUSIC”

I knew it at the time…… I thought about it while I was listening to this CD….. I’m thinking about it right NOW, and getting madder by the minute!!!

Eric and Leigh Gibson were about two hours away from my home doing a show at Byron Berline’s Double-Stop-Fiddle-Shop Theater in Guthrie, OK last year….and I missed it! I’ve been kickin’ myself ever since! Byron’s theater is intimate, warm and diligently refined for acoustic music. In other words, the perfect place to have seen the 2012 IBMA Entertainer’s Of The Year. And I MISSED IT!

I guarantee that won’t happen again…..

CD Review - Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen - On The Edge

When you think of an artist, do you remember the first time you heard them sing?

When it comes to Frank Solivan (pronounced soul-live-on), I can say yes. It was November 2006 and Prime Cuts of Bluegrass #84 came out with a single “Somebody’s Missing You” by, to me, an unknown singer named Frank Solivan.

I was an instant fan and knew that Solivan would become a name in bluegrass.

Fast forward six plus years and here we are with the release of ON THE EDGE, the sophomore project of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, and the band is ready to be recognized.

CD Review – Marty Raybon - The Back Forty

Marty Raybon’s voice puts me into a comfort zone……. you know, like a nice warm snifter of something smooth after supper sittin’ by the fire. Or, slippin’ into your favorite flannel shirt after you’ve come in cold and wet from workin’ outside.

Maybe that comfortable feeling of mine is because that voice has been around so long, and I’ve never heard Marty sound anything but GOOD!

I knew goin’ in that I was going to like this CD, but, I didn’t know I was going to like it this much! WOW! What a recording this one is!

Prescription Bluegrass CD Review–Feller and Hill and The Bluegrass Buckaroos

 

Feller and Hill and The Bluegrass Buckaroos

Released:   February, 2013

Label:   Blue Circle Records

Review by:   W.J. Hallock

My buddy, Brian McNeal, and I, have been friends since the mid 70’s. Besides being friends, we have one other thing in common….. a love affair with that 60’s Bakersfield country music sound. Brian played all those Buck and Merle songs when he was a disc jockey for KNIX in Phoenix, which was owned by Buck Owens. My band “Cactus County,” and I were playing country music (yeah, LOTS of Buck and Merle!), for dance hall crowds in every honky-tonk and road house in the southwest, with Phoenix being home base.

That sound of Buck and Don Rich singing together, Bonnie Owens (Buck’s ex-wife) vocalizing on all of Merle Haggard’s hit records, and that famous chicken-pickin’ Telecaster guitar playing of Don, James Burton and Roy Nichols will forever be a special part of country music history that we’ll always love. So, now, when anything reminds us of that era, we’re all in and checkin’ it out!

A few months back, Brian sent me some songs to listen to by “Feller and Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos.” We both couldn’t believe how much Tom Feller and Chris Hill sounded like Buck and Don singing together! We were pretty excited to see just how this musical adventure was going to turn out, as the CD wasn’t finished and ready for release.

Prescription Bluegrass CD REVIEW - FLATT LONESOME

by: W.J. Hallock

Flatt Lonesome -  Flatt Lonesome

Label: Pisgah Ridge

Released: January, 2013

This CD, by “FLATT LONESOME,” is compelling evidence that the future of bluegrass music is in talented, capable and passionate hands. On this, their debut release on Pisgah Ridge Records, they play with a nostalgic, traditional feel, the result being an authentic homage to their predecessors.

Their vocals shine with a “family” flavor that only siblings seem to naturally and inherently possess. Kelsi, Charli and Buddy Robertson sing three part harmony with the ease of having been born to do it, and in my humble opinion, they have the potential to one day be as good as the Whites or the Isaacs. As young as they are, and as good as they are, it’s only a matter of time.

Prescription Bluegrass CD Review–The SteelDrivers–HAMMER DOWN

By: W.J. Hallock

The SteelDrivers – Hammer Down

Label: Rounder Records

Release Date: February 2013

From the sounds of the newest CD by THE STEELDRIVERS, it’s obvious that lightning really can strike the same place twice. This release, “HAMMER DOWN,” is the first to include new singer/songwriter Gary Nichols and new mandolin man Brent Truitt. Fiddler Tammy Rogers, bass player Mike Fleming and banjo ace Richard Bailey must have had the gods of musical fate looking over their shoulders, because the replacements they found for Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson don’t miss a lick, sliding right into place and keeping the band’s momentum motorin’ right along.

Prescription Bluegrass CD Review–The Hillbenders

THE HILLBENDERS – CAN YOU HEAR ME

Label: Compass Records

Released: September 2012

By: W.J. Hallock

One of the definitions of “Symbiosis” is: “A close, prolonged association between two or more different species that is mutually beneficial to each member.” Yep….. that sounds like THE HILLBENDERS to me! “SYMBIOTIC!” Chad “Gravy Boat” Graves’ screamin’ dobro benefits from Mark Cassidy’s high wattage, parallel banjo licks, while Mark’s banjo benefits from Nolan Lawrence’s hot and tasty mandolin chops. Nolan’s mandolin benefits from Jim Rea’s enthusiastic guitar, just like Jim’s guitar benefits from his cousin, Gary Rea’s thunder storm driven upright bass, and Gary’s bass, in turn, churns right back around under the current of Chad’s dobro. Around and around they go, five different “Species” of instruments bouncing in and out of each other‘s space for their mutual benefit! Simply put, this band is so tight they probably all breathe in unison!

Prescription Bluegrass CD Review–Jerry Douglas “Traveler”

Jerry Douglas – Traveler
Label:      eOne Music
Released: October 2012

Reviewed by: Dan King

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the greatest Dobro player of all?

Faced with that query, most magic mirrors would probably respond by saying that Jerry Douglas has been, and is, the premier Dobro player of our time.

And who could argue?