Reviews

CLAIRE LYNCH DEAR SISTER Compass Records 746102 What’s cool about Claire Lynch is that she’s comfortable enough in her own skin to be completely confident in her unique singing voice and style. Her latest album, Dear Sister, features five songs written or co-written by Lynch along with other carefully chosen gems. What’s refreshing about this…

THE EXPEDITION SHOW STORMY HORIZONS Mountain Fever Records MFR130514 Over the years, for good traditional bluegrass with a modern twist, you could always count on the Expedition Show to produce quality music, and their new album Stormy Horizons is no exception. Leading the band is bluegrass veteran musician and storyteller Blake Williams, who steps up…

STEVE MARTIN & EDIE BRICKELL LOVE HAS COME FOR YOU Rounder Records 11661-9150-2 Who doesn’t covet Steve Martin? Whether it’s acting, comedy, writing, or playing banjo, Martin oozes talent from every pore. For his latest CD with former bandleader of the New Bohemians and an accomplished soloist, Edie Brickell, the fleet-fingered Martin displays the more…

ADAM STEFFEY NEW PRIMITIVE Organic Records OR14692 Though he is often found in somewhat contemporary groups (AKUS, Mountain Heart, and currently the Boxcars), Adam Steffey is at heart a traditional mandolinist. Fully a master of spinning modern lines and interesting twists, he is equally masterful among the older styles and with the older tunes. That…

PRETTY GOOD FOR A GIRL: WOMEN IN BLUEGRASS BY MURPHY HICKS HENRY University of Illinois Press 9780252079177. Paperback, 469 pp., 66 b&w photos, $29.95. (Univ. Of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak St., MC-566, Champaign, IL 61820, press.uillinois.edu.) Let us now praise famous women and those who should be. Readers of this magazine are well familiar…

CHRIS HENRY MAKING MY WAY TO YOU Arrandem Records AR-250 Back in 2006, Chris Henry wrote and recorded “Walkin’ West To Memphis,” a strutting, ’50s-style bluegrass/country hybrid with more hooks than a hat rack—great lyrics, great feel. Not surprisingly the song charted to number five a few years later for The Gibsons and was nominated…