Reviews

MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY TALL GRASS & COOL WATER Rural Rhythm RUR-1077 There has always been a connection between bluegrass/Appalachian music and the cowboy music of the Old West. Many of the same songs and fiddle tunes written centuries ago in Ireland, Scotland and Britain made their way out West and were adopted and adapted over…

JOHN BOWMAN FAMILY CHAIN: THE SONGS OF JOE ISAACS Pisgah Ridge PR13682 Why the gospel songs of Joe Isaacs have not been better covered by bluegrass bands defies understanding. Lack of quality of composition can’t be the reason, nor can lack of name recognition, and yet the fact remains. Enter John Bowman, who has taken…

NELL ROBINSON ON THE BROOKLYN ROAD Red Level No Number Nell Robinson is the stage name of Hilary Perkins, and this is her second CD on which Nell performs with many of the best musicians in the West: John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Tony Marcus, Chad Manning, Laurie Lewis (who co-wrote “Wahatchee” with Nell), Rob…

VOLUME FIVE CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAIN Mountain Fever Records MFR110401 You will like this. You may not think it’s the greatest recording of all time, or even that it’s among the ten best of the year, but you will like it. You could, I suppose, quibble with the inclusion of such warhorses as “More Pretty…

DAVE GIEGERICH IT’S ABOUT TIME No Label DG1001 I wish I had known Dave Giegerich, but after listening to this album, I feel like I did. Recorded between 2008 and 2010, this was Dave’s gift to the world as he battled an almost inconceivable series of ailments: throat cancer, aplastic anemia, and finally complications from…

THOMAS PORTER AND COPPER RIVER BAND TROLLEY DAYS No Label TKPIV003 How many of the 12 originals by guitarist Thomas Porter (two co-written with fiddler Doug Bartlett) will become bluegrass classics? Given the whims of the music business, the odds are long any of them will. Right now, you’re probably thinking it is too early…