Reviews

IAN SIMPSON & JOHN KANE BANJO AUSTRALIS ABC Music 3743286 Simpson and Kane are back with more banjo workouts, this time focused on music from their native Australia. The 15 cuts here include some medleys and a surprising number of songs that are somewhat familiar. “I’ve Been Everywhere” is here listed as “I’ve Played Every…

SCOTT LAW BLACK MOUNTAIN No Label No Number Guitarist/singer/songwriter Scott Law, perhaps best-known for his stint with Darol Anger, has built a solid and growing reputation among listeners and among a circle of talented acoustic musicians. It’s not surprising then, for his debut, he’s joined by many of those players, including fiddlers Tashina and Tristan…

JOE MULLINS AND JUNIOR SISK BLUEGRASS HALL OF FAME Rebel Records CD-1854    The past few years have seen the passing of many of the first generation and the retirement of many of the second-generation bluegrass artists. The music they made formed the foundation for the music we have today. Since change is the only constant,…

HEIDI CLARE & RON THOMASON BYGONE DAYS No Label No Number You won’t find many better partnership for old-time, bluegrass, and classic country music than this. Heidi Clare (formerly of the Reeltime Travelers and more recently the front woman for AtaGallop) and Dry Branch Fire Squad frontman Ron Thomason have joined for a romping ride…

IRENE KELLEY PENNSYLVANIA COAL Patio Records No Number Singer/songwriter Irene Kelley travels through her past on a musical journey with Pennsylvania Coal. The stage is set visually with a photo on the back of the CD of her coal-mining grandfather (to whom she pays tribute) and other miners at the mouth of the Crabtree, Pa.,…

ACOUSTIC STORIES: PICKING FOR THE PREZ (AND OTHER UNAMPLIFIED TALES)—BY BILL AMATNEEK—Vineyards Press, No Number. Second edition, enlarged & revised, $27. (Vineyards Press, P.O. Box 716, Sebastopol, CA 95473, www.vineyardspress.com.) Bassist Bill Amatneek has had an incredible career playing behind artists in a variety of genres, from blues to bluegrass, folk to country rock, and…