Reviews

CLAIRE LYNCH NORTH BY SOUTH Compass Records 7-4671-2 Veteran Claire Lynch, her producer Alison Brown, and the illustrious team of collaborators they’ve gathered here have really hit the high watermark on this fantastic ten-song collection. As a singer, Lynch, a three-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, has never sounded so compelling, so dazzling, and…

IVAN ROSENBERG THE LITTLEST DOBRO Slosh-Tone 8807 If IBMA had an award for cutest and most original cover design, Ivan Rosenberg should start preparing his acceptance speech now. The clay model figurines of the musicians (and Rosenberg’s instrument of choice, the resonator guitar) are brilliant, and even more impressive upon finding they were the creations…

JEFF SCROGGINS AND COLORADO RAMBLIN FEELS GOOD No Label No Number Ramblin Feels Good is the third release from Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, a high-energy band that hails from, well, you know. The band’s recorded sound is built around the triumvirate of its namesake’s fiery and flashy banjo picking, as well as the equally hot…

ADAM STEFFEY HERE TO STAY Mountain Home MH16622 Adam Steffey’s latest is more Boxcars than his last recording. That recording, Future Primitive, explored the boundaries of old-time and bluegrass, using predominantly traditional fiddle tunes. This recording returns him to a more conventional release. It needs to be said, however, so as not to mislead, that…

ZINK AND COMPANY III No Label No Number Zink & Company is one of those bands that you find dotting the map throughout the country—good, solid bands that know their way around the music and have built a strong following, perhaps even on a regional or semi-national level. They’re not going to stun a listener…

BLUE HIGHWAY ORIGINAL TRADITIONAL Rounder Records 1166100108 During its remarkable two-decade-plus career, Blue Highway has steered a steady course of melding vital originality with a sturdy devotion to tradition. The title of the band’s 11th album attests to this vision. This time around, the band’s members raised the bar by challenging themselves to deliver new…