Skip to content
Register |
Lost your password?
Subscribe
logo
  • Magazine
  • The Tradition
  • The Artists
  • The Sound
  • The Venue
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Lessons
  • Jam Tracks
  • The Archives
  • Log in to Your Account
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Search
  • Login
  • Contact
Search
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Festival Guide
    • Talent Directory
    • Workshops/Camps
    • Our History
    • Staff
    • Advertise
    • Contact
  • The Tradition
  • The Artists
  • The Sound
  • The Venue
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Lessons
  • Jam Track
  • The Archives

Home > Articles > Reviews > LARRY STEPHENSON, WHAT REALLY MATTERS

LARRY STEPHENSON

LARRY STEPHENSON, WHAT REALLY MATTERS

Bluegrass Unlimited|Posted on September 1, 2012|Reviews|No Comments
FacebookTweetEmailPrint

LARRY STEPHENSONLARRY STEPHENSON
WHAT REALLY MATTERS

Compass Records
745812

Larry Stephenson’s latest is one of those recordings that refreshes you like a breezy cool front on the heels of a torturous heat wave. Making it go are Stephenson’s distinctive tenor lead, which continues to mellow gracefully, and his thirty-plus years in the business, which has given him (along with co-producer Ben Surratt) not only an ear for selecting great songs, but also the understanding of how to make those tunes his own.

At the core here is a sound that would be at home among the greats of the late ’50s and early ’60s, one that blends, as was the hallmark of much of the bluegrass at that time, traditional bluegrass with honky-tonk country, enlivened with melodic touches of pop music. To be sure Stephenson has, on the one hand, also programmed a few straight traditional-sounding numbers such as his rollicking vocal duet with Sam Bush (who also adds his fiddle) on “Philadelphia Lawyer,” and the buoyant quartet gospel number, “On The Jericho Road,” and has, on the other hand, included a couple of tunes that sound of a later vintage. Merle Haggard’s “The Seashores Of Old Mexico,” with its “Gentle On My Mind” rhythm and descending chord lines, exemplifies the latter.

Mostly, however, when Stephenson and banjoist Kenny Ingram, bassist Danny Stewart and guitarist Kevin Richardson dive into the positive messages of “My Heart Is On The Mend” and Randall Hylton’s “What Really Matters,” or the slow gorgeous country of “You’re Too Easy To Remember,” or into Ronnie Reno’s fast-moving “Big Train” and the classic and equally fast instrumental “Bear Tracks,” you’re going to think of the Osborne Brothers and of Bill Harrell and all the classic sides of that era. Perhaps most impressive is that this recording doesn’t sound like a museum piece. Stephenson and the band make the music sound vibrant and relevant. As stated above, you’ll be refreshed. (Compass Records, 916 19th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212, www.compassrecords.com.)BW

FacebookTweetEmailPrint
Share this article
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

March 2023

Flipbook

logo
A Publication of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum / Owensboro, KY
  • Magazine
  • The Tradition
  • The Artists
  • The Sound
  • The Venue
  • Reviews
  • Survey
  • New Releases
  • Online
  • Directories
  • Archives
  • About
  • Our History
  • Staff
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Subscriptions
Connect With Us
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
bluegrasshalloffame
tannerpublishing
tannerwest
Subscribe
Give as a Gift
Send a Story Idea

Copyright © 2023 Tanner Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
Website by Tanner+West

Subscribe For Full Access

Digital Magazines are available to paid subscribers only. Subscribe now or log in for access.

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!