Reviews

OLA BELLE REED AND THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN MUSIC ON THE MASON-DIXON LINE—BY HENRY GLASSIE, CLIFFORD R. MURPHY, AND DOUGLAS DOWLING PEACH—Dust-to-Digital DTS-40. Hardcover, 256 pp., two CDs included, $31.50. (Dust-To-Digital, PO Box 54743, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.dust-digital.com.) Ola Belle Reed was a presence to be reckoned with. Her voice was commanding, her playing sufficient and…

TROUT STEAK REVIVAL BRIGHTER EVERY DAY No Label No Number Brighter Every Day is the second album from Trout Steak Revival, a quintet from Colorado. Produced by Chris Pandolfi (Infamous Stringdusters), the recording is a clean and polished collection of ten songs and one instrumental (all originals). They seem to be striving for a sound…

STEEP RAVINE THE PEDESTRIAN No Label 8921142532 This trio’s The Pedestrian is a quick follow-up to their 2014 debut Trampin’ On. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, Steep Ravine brings another fresh crop of originals to the table with their collective influences of folk, jazz, pop, and funk, along with bluegrass. Jan Purat brings…

THE DAUPHINAIS BROTHERS EMPTY TEARDROPS No Label No Number    This is an instantly likeable album. There are no real holes in it; no point at which to reach for the skip button. Hearing this music immediately reminded me of the first time I heard the Gibson Brothers in the late 1990s. They too drew on…

THE STEELDRIVERS THE MUSCLE SHOALS RECORDINGS Rounder Records 11661-9180-2 The title of The SteelDrivers’ latest collection has real significance. This popular Nashville-based group—whose sound is as shiny and intense as its name implies—traveled to the legendary recording mecca of Muscle Shoals, Ala., (specifically to the Nutt House Studio in nearby Sheffield) to produce their fourth…

THE LONESOME TRIO Sugar Hill Records SUG-CD-4110 A love of whiskey and bluegrass music drew together three students attending Ohio’s Oberlin College twenty-two years ago. Ed Helms (guitar and banjo), Ian Riggs (bass), and Jacob Tilove (mandolin), along with a few other musician buds played informal gigs on back porches, front yards, and basement keg…