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MARK HOUSER AND BLUEGRASS DRIVE UNEVEN ROAD Rural Rhythm RUR-1107 It has been 24 years since songwriter Mark Houser’s first recording. This is his second. In between he wrote and co-wrote songs for a number of performers, most notably Carrie Hassler and The Roys. Uneven Road ties many of those threads together. Houser wrote both…

AMERICAN DRIVE Rural Rhythm RUR-1108 You probably know the members of American Drive as four-fifths of J.D. Crowe’s last version of the New South. When Crowe called it a day, guitarist/vocalist Rickey Wasson, mandolinist/vocalist Dwight McCall, resonator guitarist/vocalist Matt Despain, and bassist Kyle Perkins kept the band together and signed with Rural Rhythm. Joining the…

RICKY SKAGGS AND KENTUCKY THUNDER MUSIC TO MY EARS Skaggs Family Records 6989010132 This latest release from Ricky Skaggs begins with a slow, relaxed, but punchy  version of “Blue Night,” followed by a rousing version of Don Stover’s  classic “Things In Life,”  with Ricky supplying some nice clawhammer banjo work. “You Can’t Hurt Ham” is…

BLUEGRASS BLUESMAN: JOSH GRAVES, A MEMOIR—EDITED BY FRED BARTENSTEIN—University of Illinois Press 9780252078644. Foreword by Neil Rosenberg, 133 pp., $21.95. (Univ. Of Illinois Press, Chicago Distribution Ctr., 11030 S. Langley Ave., Chicago, IL 60628, press.uillinois.edu.) Yet another must-read book from the University of Illinois Press. Readers of this magazine don’t need to be reminded of…

BOB MINNER THERE & BACK & BACK AGAIN Missouriboy Music No Number When you see a group of performers play, you often don’t have the opportunity to truly hear the skills of each individual. You listen to the blended ensemble with some solo breaks thrown in. That’s one of the reasons it’s such a joy…

LINDSAY LOU & THE FLATBELLYS RELEASE YOUR SHROUDS Earthwork Music EW2301 Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys are a fresh new voice in modern bluegrass, with driving instrumentals and a straight-from-the-still quality to Lindsay’s voice that gives the project a strong sense of authenticity and heritage. Starting off with “Hat’s Off,” the entire band lays down…