Reviews

CROWE BROTHERS BRIDGING THE GAP Rural Rhythm RUR-1087 The Crowe Brothers plow all the way to the fence on this project. They are probably the best brother unit out there today. With able help from Steve Sutton on banjo, Brian Blaylock on mandolin and guitar, Steve Thomas on fiddle and mandolin, and Randy Kohrs on…

C.W. MUNDY ROAD TRIP: CROSSING BORDERS Moon Surf Records No Number Banjoist C.W. Mundy crosses a lot of borders on his recording Road Trip: Crossing Borders. However, it’s not obvious that all of them needed to be crossed at one time. In spite of a lot of great musicianship on display, the whole of the…

DAN CRARY & THUNDERATION PERFECT STORM Blue Night Records BNR-222 Back in the 1960s and ’70s, several amazing acoustic flattop steel string guitar players burst like a clap of thunder on the folk and bluegrass scenes. Between the fiddle tune and rockabilly lightning of Doc Watson and the jazzy pyrotechnics of Tony Rice was—and is—the…

DAVID PARMLEY & CONTINENTAL DIVIDE CHURCH HOUSE HYMNS, VOLUME II DP&CD Records 1002 On his website, David Parmley, founder of the Bluegrass Cardinals and co-founder of Continental Divide, explains that his latest release (his first since returning to the bluegrass circuit last year after a lengthy hiatus) is a direct response to the overwhelming reception…

FRANK WAKEFIELD A TRIBUTE TO BILL MONROE Patuxent Music PXCD 227 In the year of Bill Monroe’s hundredth birthday, tribute albums emerged like dandelions. Given Frank Wakefield’s own legendary status on the mandolin and his self-acknowledged obsession with Monroe’s music, finding this CD among those tributes should come as little surprise. Wakefield was a great…

LARRY CORDLE PUD MARCUM’S HANGIN’ Mighty Cord 001 Larry Cordle has been putting out exceptionally fine recordings for a long time and we’ve come to expect the best from him. He has an uncanny ability to turn a phrase that fits exactly right, makes you laugh, makes you think, and paints a perfect picture in…