THE HUNT BROTHERS, GAME 7

THE HUNT BROTHERS
GAME 7

Rock Springs Records
RSR007

The Hunt brothers, Andrew and Jonathan, are joined by their parents, Terry and Leanne, on this project they sum up as an “experimentation.” Andrew plays fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, while his brother Jonathan plays banjo, guitars, bass, and drums, and also produced and engineered the project. The project features original pieces, two from Andrew and two from Jonathan. The remaining selections are somewhat familiar such as “Ebo Walker,” “Live And Let Live,” “Down The Road,” “Can’t You Hear Me Calling,” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

By experimentation, the selections are backed by drums, percussion, and electric guitar which to bluegrass regulars place the project “On The Edge” of the music. While the brothers are very good musicians, these experiments tend to distract from the really good bluegrass music these guys can play. Take their version of “Walk Don’t Run” which is heavy on electric guitar and leaves the banjo and mandolin solos in a lesser role. “Tinseltown” and ”Oklahoma Wind” are by Jonathan, while “Skeleton Creek” and “Weeping Willow Waltz” are from Andrew.

The instrumentals and backing arrangements let the brothers show off their instrumental prowess. The vocal harmony blends are tight and excellently phrased. “Near The Cross” is the only gospel song with a beautiful vocal arrangement. “Weeping Willow Waltz” allows Andrew to showcase his fiddle playing and “Sweet Georgia Brown” lets the brothers travel down a jazzy instrumental path. As said, these two brothers can play bluegrass and this musical experiment is overall pretty good. (Rock Springs Records, 7968 Burt Burgen Rd., Bradyville, TN 37026, www.huntfamilyband.com.)BF