Articles

NORMAN BLAKE GREEN LIGHT ON THE SOUTHERN Plectrafone Records 824761-42812-1 When you are as talented as Norman Blake, nothing is needed in the studio but a guitar and microphone. Blake, who retired from the road with his wife Nancy three years ago, recorded some of the old-fashioned Southern string music that he plays around home….

KIRK SUTPHIN & RILEY BAUGUS LONG-TIME PIEDMONT PALS Old Blue Records OB CD-705 You can’t be more long-time friends than growing up in the same town and playing music together from the time you were young. Riley and Kirk are part of the living aural tradition, the true vine of old-time music. They learned from…

JOE MULLINS AND THE RADIO RAMBLERS HYMNS FROM THE HILLS Rebel Records Reb-CD 1839 Joe Mullins’ new gospel recording is evenly split between two approaches. On one side are seven songs recorded solely by Mullins and his band, the Radio Ramblers. Several of those are new songs, including the rousing “He Loves Me” by band…

GLENN GIBSON WHEN TIMES ARE HARD Glenn Gibson is a resonator guitarist who has put in side man and studio time with Charlie Sizemore, Marty Raybon, Karl Shiflett, and Dale Ann Bradley. With this recording, he steps out from that role and assumes that of songwriter and lead vocalist. All of the songs here are…

GARY RULEY AND MULE TRAIN THE SOUTHERN INN AND OUT LIVE Gary Ruley and Mule Train is a large, somewhat free-floating ensemble of talented musicians from in and around Rockbridge County, Virginia. Some eleven names are listed in their press notes, and five of them, plus two guests (fiddlers Nate Leath and Shannon Wheeler) appear…

CRAIG MORRIS BANJOLOGY Bluegrass is an egalitarian music. It is grassroots music. There are folks who go to festivals who never even get to the stage, they are so wrapped up in playing the music. Some folks can’t help but share their music with others. Craig Morris is a fine banjo picker and he gathered…