Reviews

MARTY RAYBON HAND TO THE PLOW Rural Rhythm Records RCH-2014 In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a huge fan of Marty Raybon. So, he could sing a medical transcript, and I would stand for an encore. Peers like Gary LeVox, lead vocalist of superstar country group Rascal Flatts (“The greatest singer on the planet…

LAKE SIDE RISING UP Mercy Road Records MCYRD110811 Based on the music presented on this new recording from long-running Tennessee-based Lake Side, you’d have to classify them as a gospel group first, a country band second, and a bluegrass group third. Of gospel being first, there can be no doubt. That has been the focus…

BILL EVANS, IN GOOD COMPANY Native and Fine Records 906-9  Some musicians’ visions and scope far outstrip the confines of their chosen instrument. Earl Scruggs obviously had listened to more than the country music of his day. A close listening to his earliest work with Bill Monroe reflects not only an understanding of the swing vocabulary…

VARIOUS ARTISTS PA’S FIDDLE: CHARLES INGALLS, AMERICAN FIDDLER Pa’s Fiddle Recordings PFR-0169-2 This is part of a series of recordings of the songs and tunes Laura Ingalls Wilder documented her father playing on the fiddle in her books about growing up on the frontier. The music here is easy listening, acoustic string band music with…

WAYNE TAYLOR IT’S ABOUT TIME Wayne Taylor Records WTR-001 Yes, I agree. It was indeed about time that bassist/songwriter Wayne Taylor of the wonderful band Blue Highway stepped forward into the spotlight on his own. The result is a hard-hitting album by some real musical heavy hitters, Taylor prominent among them. Wayne Taylor is one…

THE BOXCARS ALL IN Mountain Home MH13982 In the wake of winning IBMA’s Emerging Artist Of The Year, the Boxcars’ second recording retains much the same division of labor as their first. Keith Garrett is still the principle songwriter and singer, contributing and singing four songs in the middle register. John Bowman still handles the…