Reviews

DONNA ULISSE AN EASY CLIMB Hadley Music Group HMG 1007 There have been many examples of mainstream country music missing the boat on some very good vocalists over the years. Some of those singers, in turn, have thankfully landed in the bluegrass genre. What is Nashville Pop’s loss has been bluegrass music’s gain in many…

VARIOUS ARTISTS MOODY BLUEGRASS: TWO…MUCH LOVE Bunny Rae Records BRRMBG2 There have been a lot of albums released in recent years with a “bluegrass style” tag on them, which usually means non-bluegrass music played with bluegrass instruments. Many are full of great music, but the bluegrass sound never really kicks in. However, the new album,…

RICK PARDUE AND TIMMY MASSEY THE GHOST OF NOAH HAYES Lizard Records LCD12011 The witty, perceptive, to-the-bone songwriters Rick Pardue and Timmy Massey have combined their considerable talents with guitarist Jimmy Haley, mandolinist Jason Tomlin and fiddler David Johnson and have produced an entertaining all-original, 12-song CD. Massey wrote four of the songs here, plays…

FINNDERS AND YOUNGBERG FY5 No Label No Number While some bands are mainly about flashy instrumental work, the Colorado quintet Finnders and Youngberg seem to be principally about the songs. Most on FY5 are by guitarist Mike Finnders, who takes the lion’s share of the lead vocals. He’s a storyteller at heart, converting his experiences…

TOMMY EDWARDS NORTH CAROLINA: HISTORY, MYSTERY, LORE AND MORE Salisbury Street Recordings SSR1978 Edwards has put together a nice CD of songs about his home state of North Carolina. The songs, new and old, rare and familiar, for the most part are played well with the help of a long list of mostly Tarheel musicians….

TIM GARDNER TIMMETRY Coyote Ridge Audio No Number Kicking it all off with a fine reading of “Daley’s Reel,” there is a lot to like on this first solo release by this young western North Carolina fiddler. Gardner has played fiddle in the bluegrass band High Windy, and more recently for Paul’s Creek, an old-time…