Articles

ANDY THORN & FRIENDS FIRE IN THE SKY Thornpipe Music No Number For me, the key to how good an album is depends on how it holds up after multiple listens. Since receiving this new project by Andy Thorn, Fire In The Sky, there are a handful of exceptional tunes on it that have not…

THE GATHERING (LAURELYN DOSSETT, RHIANNON GIDDENS, MIKE COMPTON, JOE NEWBERRY, JASON SYPHER) A WINTER’S TALE IN SIX SONGS Sycamore Road 050 If there’s one thing harder than reviewing a Christmas-themed recording in January, it’s recording it in August. But that’s what this assemblage did, taking inspiration from a six-song cycle composed by Polecat Creek’s Laurelyn…

SHADOW RIDGE HILLBILLY BIG SHOTS No Label No Number For their fifth recording, the Knoxville-based Shadow Ridge largely follows the song selection format of their previous releases, programming a fifty/fifty mix of warhorses and more obscure material. Regardless of the source, the overall presentation is good, with vocals (both lead and harmony) being their strongest…

VARIOUS ARTISTS RURAL RHYTHM SALUTES BILL MONROE: 100th YEAR CELEBRATION, LIVE AT BEAN BLOSSOM Rural Rhythm RUR-1090 Add this gem to the list of tribute releases honoring the Father of Bluegrass on the hundredth anniversary of his birth. Recorded live at Bean Blossom in June 2011 and produced by Sammy Shelor, this package includes 12…

JANIE FRICKE COUNTRY SIDE OF BLUEGRASS New Music Deals NMD-CD-101 Janie Fricke becomes the most recent country performer to enter the bluegrass field. To that end, she has recast in a bluegrass setting her country hits from the 1980s. Of her seven songs that charted to number one, “Don’t Worry ’Bout Me Baby,” “It Ain’t…

THE COCKMAN FAMILY DEDICATED Heartwarming Records HTW092011003 There is a seemingly endless number of family bluegrass gospel bands, but few have achieved the level of professionalism found here. The Cockman Family has a firm musical base, and they play and sing with skill. They write the majority of their material, and it is all above…