Reviews

RICK BARTLEY RIVER FULL OF BLUES No Label No Number Rick Bartley has combined five originals with three bluegrass standards and several additional new songs from relatively lesser-known sources to produce what appears to be his first release (the liner notes here are the soul of brevity). The result is a well-performed, pleasant offering of…

THE DEL McCOURY BAND DEL AND WOODY: ORIGINAL LYRICS OF WOODY GUTHRIE SET TO MUSIC BY DEL McCOURY McCoury Music No Number    Opening unsolicited CD mailers can prove better than Christmas when the package contains something on the order of Del And Woody, the latest from the Del McCoury Band. Del McCoury selected and arranged…

THE GRASCALS AND THEN THERE’S THIS… Mountain Home MH16432 The last Grascals release moved them closer to Americana. The drums were more upfront, the songs somewhat harder-edged. The question was, where would their next recording take them? Well, just as “Life Finds A Way,” life sometimes gets in the way. Longtime members Jamie Johnson and…

TONY ROOK THE ROAD BACK HOME No Label No Number This pleasant project by the banjo picker, songwriter, and guitarist Tony Rook is a fine example of mainstream bluegrass. The vocals are all handled by Rook, and he does a masterful job on leads and singing all of the harmonies. The songwriting ranges from good…

WYATT RICE & DAN MENZONE ALLIANCE SOMETHING OUT OF THE BLUE Mountain Fever MFR 160318 This alliance is the basis for some fine picking and singing. Wyatt Rice will be known to all, but those who have been asleep, as brother to the legendary Tony Rice. Dan Menzone is his picking partner and a fine…

SWIFT CREEK MAGNOLIA No label No number If you’re looking for a laid-back sound that mixes a lot of influences from bluegrass to blues to a little Americana, North Carolina band Swift Creek might be your ticket. The group, mostly known around the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, just released their second album, Magnolia. The group broadened…