Reviews

THE CROWE BROTHERS FORTY YEARS OLD Mountain Fever Records MFR 141028 With the release of Forty Years Old, the Crowe Brothers, Josh and Wayne, do a nice job of straddling the line between country and bluegrass. Using bluegrass instrumentation (Wayne on bass, Josh on guitar, Steve Sutton on banjo and dojo, Brian Blaylock on mandolin,…

ART ROSENBAUM’S OLD-TIME BANJO BOOK BY ART ROSENBAUM Mel Bay MB30494DP. (Mel Bay, 4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com.) This is an exciting new book and DVD from one of the modern masters of old-time banjo. Rosenbaum is retired from the University of Georgia after a long career as an art professor. He’s widely…

TURNING GROUND CELL OF MINE No Label No Number Eastern Kentucky is a place of pressure. Geologically and sociologically, the region is known for the power that comes from that pressure that makes for coal and great music. These fellows sure bring that power to their music. Racing out of the starting gate, the Arnett…

SAVAGE FIDDLER METHOD BOOK AND ONLINE LESSON METHOD BY ANNIE SAVAGE No Label, No Number. (www.savagefiddler.com) This books compliments the many files found on Annie Savage’s website. There was no password included with this book, so the opportunity to view the online tools was not fully realized. Each tune is taught with the following steps….

MIKE AULDRIDGE, JERRY DOUGLAS AND ROB ICKES THREE BELLS Rounder Records 11661-35773-02    Three Bells is a fascinating album by three of the best resonator guitar players who will ever play the instrument. For Douglas and Ickes, it’s a labor of love musically, giving tribute to Auldridge for taking this unique instrument to a new level…

JOHNNY WILLIAMS GOING MY WAY Mountain Road Recordings MRR-1021 Johnny Williams’ most distinctive work on this, his second solo release on Mountain Road, comes in bunches—three separate bunches. The tracks in between are fine. Those in the bunches stay with you. At track three, begins the first bunch. You can feel the shift immediately. Where…