Articles

DAN CRARY & THUNDERATION PERFECT STORM Blue Night Records BNR-222 Back in the 1960s and ’70s, several amazing acoustic flattop steel string guitar players burst like a clap of thunder on the folk and bluegrass scenes. Between the fiddle tune and rockabilly lightning of Doc Watson and the jazzy pyrotechnics of Tony Rice was—and is—the…

DAVID PARMLEY & CONTINENTAL DIVIDE CHURCH HOUSE HYMNS, VOLUME II DP&CD Records 1002 On his website, David Parmley, founder of the Bluegrass Cardinals and co-founder of Continental Divide, explains that his latest release (his first since returning to the bluegrass circuit last year after a lengthy hiatus) is a direct response to the overwhelming reception…

FRANK WAKEFIELD A TRIBUTE TO BILL MONROE Patuxent Music PXCD 227 In the year of Bill Monroe’s hundredth birthday, tribute albums emerged like dandelions. Given Frank Wakefield’s own legendary status on the mandolin and his self-acknowledged obsession with Monroe’s music, finding this CD among those tributes should come as little surprise. Wakefield was a great…

LARRY CORDLE PUD MARCUM’S HANGIN’ Mighty Cord 001 Larry Cordle has been putting out exceptionally fine recordings for a long time and we’ve come to expect the best from him. He has an uncanny ability to turn a phrase that fits exactly right, makes you laugh, makes you think, and paints a perfect picture in…

RED MOLLY LIGHT IN THE SKY No Label No Number If this CD were all a cappella ballads, this would be an excellent new project from Red Molly. But their crystalline three-part harmonies are only part of the excellent music adventure this trio brought to the studio. Austin-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Molly Venter easily steps into the…

RIGNEY FAMILY BLUEGRASS FAMILIAR PATHS Rigney Family Bluegrass RFB-2011-3 Mention “family bluegrass band,” and after a few moments of missing the Lewis Family pass, too often my mind summons up images of twee, cloying, smiling, unimaginative, unchallenging bluegrass, heavy on standards or pop-grass. Sure, after Cherryholmes I should know better than to assume such, but…