Reviews

THE ROYS NEW DAY DAWNING Rural Rhythm 1105 Elaine and Lee Roy, a Massachusetts-born and New Brunswick, Canada-raised brother/sister duo, make some fine, if unremarkable harmonies. For whatever reason, their voices are a little bit subdued and understated in the mix on this otherwise very impressive song collection, which was produced by the eminently talented…

VARIOUS ARTISTS FOGGY MOUNTAIN SPECIAL- A BLUEGRASS TRIBUTE TO EARL SCRUGGS Rounder Records 11661-0638-2    With the passing of Earl Scruggs in March of this year, there will doubtless be any number of well-deserved tribute projects released honoring him for his role in popularizing the five-string banjo. It is hard to imagine any that could be…

LITTLE BLACK TRAIN BARN DANCE Native Home Music 102 Little Black Train is a little trio with a broad reach. While planted mainly in old-time music, the inclusion of Irish fiddle tunes and the prominent presence of California bluegrass stalwart Kenny Blackwell on mandolin sets it apart from most revivalist string bands. While it’s the…

JERRY SALLEY SHOWING MY AGE Very Jerry Records No number Listening to Jerry Salley sing his latest batch of original songs brings to mind Rodney Crowell. Like Crowell, Salley has one of those personable, brightly-timbered, and immediately engaging voices, the kind that is perfect for the story songs they both write so well; songs that,…

VARIOUS ARTISTS SCENIC CITY SAMPLER: A SWEET SAMPLING OF CHATTANOOGA MUSICIANS AND SONGWRITERS, VOLUME 1 Buckeye Ridge No Number It’s true, Chattanooga is a hot bed of great music. Tucked between Atlanta and Knoxville, not far from Alabama, it is becoming a Mecca of sorts for musicians of varied stripes, as this fine collection demonstrates….

DIRT SIMPLE FIDDLE—BY MARY ANN WILLIS Mel Bay MB21381BCD. (Mel Bay Publications, Inc., #4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com.) This is an ambitious and interesting instructional manual for learning the fiddle. There is a lot of ground covered in these sixty pages and twenty-one tunes. Starting with an introduction describing what a fiddle is…