Reviews

BILL MONROE: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF THE BLUE GRASS MAN BY TOM EWING Univ. of Ill. Press 9780252041891. Hardcover, 656 pp., 30 b&w photos, $34.95. (Univ. of Ill. Press, 11030 S. Langley Ave., Chicago, IL 60628, press.uillinois.edu.) Among the many things you can learn from Tom Ewing’s engaging, comprehensive biography of Bill Monroe is…

MICKEY GALYEAN & CULLEN’S BRIDGE SONGS FROM THE BLUE RIDGE Rebel Records REB CD 1866    In a time when so much sounds similar, it’s a joyous day when an album kicks your butt like its 1954, right from the fiddle kickoff on the first song. Songs From The Blue Ridgedoes precisely that for me. The veteran…

TYLER GRANT AND ROBIN KESSINGER KANAWHA COUNTY FLATPICKING Grant Central 1802 Tyler Grant from Colorado and Robin Kessinger from West Virginia are both champion flatpicking guitarists and singers. They collaborate on this CD with Tyler’s guitar in the left channel and Robin’s in the right channel. The recording opens with “Soldier’s Joy” in harmony and…

VARIOUS ARTISTS COME SEE ABOUT ME A BENEFIT FOR THE IBMA TRUST FUND Mountain Home MH17182 Come See About Meis not only a fine album with an inspiring theme, it’s also the culmination of a very worthy endeavor to which the contributing artists donated their time, talent, and royalties. The album was conceived and executed…

LARRY CORDLE TALES FROM EAST KENTUCKY Mighty Cord Records MCR1004    Cracking open a new album from stellar songwriter and singer Larry Cordle is like a combination of Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates and Christmas morning. You don’t know exactly what you’re going to get—with the intriguing variety of topics, stories, and characters portrayed in each…

COURTNEY HARTMAN & TAYLOR ASHTON BEEN ON YOUR SIDE Free Dirt Records DIRT-CD-0089 The debut recording from Della Mae’s virtuoso guitarist Courtney Hartman and Taylor Ashton, clawhammer banjo player and guitarist of Canadian roots ensemble Fish & Bird, is a quietly introspective piece of mostly original music recorded in the dead of winter with a…