Reviews

STEPHEN WADE BANJO DIARY: LESSONS FROM TRADITION Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD40208 This is Wade’s third CD and a bit of a departure from the two earlier projects in that this CD incorporates more of a band sound and Wade sings. Earlier projects featured a more bare-bones approach and other performers singing. Wade’s banjo playing and…

THE TIME JUMPERS Rounder Records 11661-9148-2 Classic. That’s what comes to mind with this long-deferred first studio album from the current lineup of the Time Jumpers. That’s not meant that this is an album headed for classic status. It’s an extremely good recording, but it falls a bit short of classic. Nor should you get…

ROBERT HALE PURE AND SIMPLE Pinecastle Records PRC 1179 Robert Hale first caught my attention with Livewire’s Wired! CD around 1990, an exceptional progressive bluegrass release that featured Wayne Benson, Ernie Sykes, and Scott Vestal, and Hale’s powerful and soulful lead vocals. The two decades since have seen Hale perform with J.D. Crowe & the…

THE ABRAMS BROTHERS NORTHERN REDEMPTION United For Opportunity UFO 1025 From opener to closer, we’re on the last sliver of edge here. The title track of this predominantly original-material album begins with a couple of deep thuds, then launches into a medium-tempo country rocker with a likeable melody sung upper-register, emphatically and angst-driven. That vocal…

LARRY KEEL AND NATURAL BRIDGE CLASSIC No Label LKNB2012 Larry Keel has been carving out his own niche somewhere among the bluegrassers, jam bands, songwriters, and hot pickers since the mid-’90s. His casual presentation belies an intense passion for acoustic roots music, family, and a “don’t tread on me” lifestyle, with a fishing pole and…

AT CARTER STANLEY’S GRAVE: MUSINGS ON COUNTRY MUSIC AND MUSICIANS BY EDWARD MORRIS Storm Coast Press, No Number. Softcover, 218 pages. (Storm Coast Press, P.O. Box 150934, Nashville, TN 37215.)   Okay, what’s not to like in a book whose last line reads, “Scruggs threw all caution to the wind and broke into a small…