Articles

MIKE AULDRIDGE, JERRY DOUGLAS AND ROB ICKES THREE BELLS Rounder Records 11661-35773-02    Three Bells is a fascinating album by three of the best resonator guitar players who will ever play the instrument. For Douglas and Ickes, it’s a labor of love musically, giving tribute to Auldridge for taking this unique instrument to a new level…

JOHNNY WILLIAMS GOING MY WAY Mountain Road Recordings MRR-1021 Johnny Williams’ most distinctive work on this, his second solo release on Mountain Road, comes in bunches—three separate bunches. The tracks in between are fine. Those in the bunches stay with you. At track three, begins the first bunch. You can feel the shift immediately. Where…

DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER IN SESSION Mountain Home MH15732 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver’s latest album, In Session, captures a celebrated veteran band at full power. It’s a masterful showcase of imaginative song choices, superlative harmonies, inspired vocal arrangements and powerhouse picking. The production, handled by Lawson with the assistance of recording engineer Josh Swift, is…

NICK HORNBUCKLE TWELVE BY TWO (PLUS OR MINUS ONE) Corvus Records CR 022            On 12×2(+/-1), Nick Hornbuckle, Washington State banjo player for John Reischman and the Jaybirds, presents a striking instrumental album showcasing his unique two-finger picking style on a thoughtful selection of mostly traditional tunes. The title refers to…

DONNA HUGHES FROM THE HEART Running Dog Records RDR-03 Obviously, Donna Hughes has been busy putting pen to paper in the four years since her last album. She is releasing two records this year. One, titled Fly, has eight originals. This one has 19 to go along with covers of the old gospel standard “I’ll…

CHRIS JONES AND THE NIGHT DRIVERS LIVE AT THE OLD FEED STORE GSM Records 103 Here’s a live album that gets it right. Just enough ambiance and crowd involvement so you get the experience. Instruments and voices are in balance so you hear everyone clearly. Introductions are kept to a minimum or on separate tracks…