Highland County
Ranch King Records
Tim McDonald is originally from Virginia, an Army Veteran and graduate of the Armed Forces School of Music where he was mentored and befriended by Byron Berline and others.
After the Army, McDonald moved to Nashville where he has become a sought-after studio pianist, recording with artists Blake Shelton, Pam Tillis, Mark Chesnutt, and Buddy Jewel, just to name a few. He also has his own Tim McDonald Band and together and alone has ten albums under his belt. On this eleventh outing, McDonald tells in music the story of a murder in the 1870’s, where a land owner is killed for his land and how the son takes his revenge.
For this project, McDonald, on piano and lead vocals, is joined by his former mentor the late Byron Berline (fiddle), also by Barry Patton (bones), Bryon House (bass), Cody Kilby (banjo, resonator guitar, guitar), Jonathan Hunt (banjo, guitar), Nicky V Hines (guitar), and Vince Gill (harmony). The tale begins with an instrumental overture “Off To The Mine,” followed by “John Henry Butler,” introducing the killer. “Ridin’ Next To Me” tells of the son’s revenge, and “Highland County” relates the son’s arrest and writing to his mother. An instrumental interlude “Lighting” follows. “The Gavel” covers the son’s trial, then the dirge “Dead Man Walking.”
Patton plays the bones on the brief “Tyburn Tree,” and the tale ends with “The Fields” where mother gets the land back and the son is pardoned. The CD jacket notes explains the story a little further. Lots of great instrumental breaks from the players and nice backing vocals from Hunt, Berline and Gill. A good new outing from Tim McDonald.
