Reviews

NORMAN BLAKE BRUSHWOOD: SONGS & STORIES Plectrafone Records 824761-17528-5 Over a long career known for his musical integrity and his respect for tradition, Norman Blake has established a singular legacy as a guitarist, mandolinist, songwriter, singer, and session man. His newest recording has the feel of a final statement, as if he’s spent an extended…

WILDFIRE RENTED ROOM ON BROADWAY Pinecastle Records PRC 1201 One of the best “going home” songs of recent vintage opens the new recording from Wildfire. “Home Again” is a gentle medium loper, very smooth and impossible not to like. It calls to mind the work of The Grascals album of a couple releases back. They…

THE PIEDMONT MELODY MAKERS WONDERFUL WORLD OUTSIDE Vigortone Records VT-2007 The Piedmont Melody Makers (Alice Gerrard, Chris Brashear, Cliff Hale, and Jim Watson) have released a very pleasant 16-cut CD which gently winds through the rural styles prevalent in The South (and elsewhere) in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. The…

BLUEGRASS EXPRESS ANSWER TO MY PRAYER Plum River Records PRP0816 This is a really nice all-gospel project from Bluegrass Express. The band is a family affair founded by father Gary Underwood (guitar), son Greg Underwood (bass), and Greg’s son Jacob Underwood (banjo, guitar). Rounding out the band is Nate Burie (mandolin). Guests include Tim Crouch…

RHONDA VINCENT AND THE RAGE ALL THE RAGE: RHONDA VINCENT AND THE RAGE IN CONCERT, VOLUME ONE Upper Mgmt. Records UM010 For any young musician determined to carve out a meaningful and lasting career, it’s hard to imagine a better role model than Rhonda Vincent. With her remarkable artistry, discipline, commitment, generosity, and vast energy,…

THE SOMMERS ROSENTHAL FAMILY BAND DOWN THE ROAD American Melody AM-CD-5128 The Americana genre allows for a freedom not always present in bluegrass or old-time music. Where an “outside” instrument or arrangement or song in bluegrass may draw a jaundiced eye or two, in Americana no one blinks. That freedom is on full display on…