Reviews

DAVE ADKINS TRIO TURN TO JESUS Mountain Fever MFR 170407 Bluegrass gospel recordings can use approaches ranging from spare to ornate, following one end or the other exclusively, or create an overall blend located anywhere on the spectrum or mixing and matching tracks from all over that spectrum. There is no right way. Each approach…

ZOE AND CLOYD EYES BRAND NEW No Label ZC02 When a duo releases a debut album, it makes perfect sense to present themselves in the authentic purity of two voices and two instruments. That’s exactly what Zoe and Cloyd did on their initial recording, Equinox. And it makes just as much sense, when putting out…

TIM O’BRIEN WHERE THE RIVER MEETS THE ROAD Howdy Skies CD-2017    No American acoustic artist has presented a more honest, deeply-rooted expression of bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, and roots music than West Virginia’s favorite son, Tim O’Brien. Whether it’s his early work with the Ophelia Swing Band, his initial solo records and songwriting work for Nashville…

DARRELL WEBB BAND LOVER’S LEAP Mountain Fever Records MFR170210 Darrell Webb’s years with Wildfire, Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent, and Michael Cleveland have served him well. The time spent with those groups enabled Webb to learn both sides of the business—the stage and the office. He took those learned skills and formed his own band…

TUSSEY MOUNTAIN MOONSHINERS SHINE No Label No Number In the liner notes, the following recipe appears: “How to make SHINE. 5 parts songwriters, 6 parts acoustic instrumentation, and 3-part harmonies. Age ingredients 18 months on many stages. Take fermented sour mash to the stillhouse, add one condenser microphone, and boil. Do not over mix.” The…

THE WEEPING WILLOWS BEFORE DARKNESS COMES A-CALLIN’ No Label No Number The second recording from Australian duo, Andrew Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates (The Weeping Willows) is a collection of original songs guaranteed to haunt. “We are the darker side of Americana,” Laura Coates says. “We are drawn to murder ballads, as well as spiritual hymns,…