Reviews

SHOEFLY SIX-FIFTY No Label No Number ShoeFly  has put together a fine mix of tunes and songs that smoothly span the gamut from old-time to bluegrass to classic early country. The CD title reflects the WSM radio station responsible for inspiring so many musicians and exposing  them to the wide variety of traditional music reflected…

THE AMERICAN MANDOLIN METHOD, VOLUME 2—BY BRIAN WICKLUND AND BEN WINSHIP—Mel Bay MB20146BCD. (Mel Bay, #4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com.) Regarding the amount of technique presented in this intermediate-level volume of instruction, it needs to be said that there isn’t that much of it. Twenty-two pages comprise the entirety of the teaching and,…

WAYNE & MAX HENDERSON RUGBY, VA Music Maker Relief Foundation MMCD159 Wayne Henderson is a well-known musician and guitar builder from Southwest Virginia. He has played for audiences around the world and has built and/or worked on guitars for such stars as Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, and Neil Young. In 1995, after a stint at…

THE BAYLEY HAZEN BOYS ANOTHER BLUE RIBBON No Label No Number The “boys” are a trio of seasoned pickers from Vermont and former members the band Gopher Broke Bluegrass. With Steve Wright on guitar, banjo, and vocals, Gary Darling on mandolin and vocals, and Chris Cruger on bass and vocals, they are joined at times…

ALICE GERRARD BITTERSWEET Spruce and Maple Music SMM 1008 Starting off a CD with an a cappella number is a gutsy move. But Alice Gerrard and producer Laurie Lewis are gutsy musicians. Bittersweet, Alice’s first solo CD in ten years, finds the two friends combining their considerable talents to showcase thirteen strong originals by Alice….

THE MURPHY METHOD: BANJO BACKUP FOR FIDDLE TUNES—TAUGHT BY CASEY HENRY AND MURPHY HENRY WITH MEGAN LYNCH ON FIDDLE—Murphy Method MB30372DVD. 99 mins., $29.99. (Murphy Method, P.O. Box 2498, Winchester, VA 22604, www.murphymethod.com.) Perhaps the biggest leap a beginning banjo player can take is to go from playing by herself to playing with others. It’s…