Plowin’ It to the Fence

We can make this easy.  If you’re a fan of the music of Lonesome River Band, Lou Reid & Carolina, Grasstowne, Lost & Found, and the Larry Stephenson Band, you’re going to like Shannon Slaughter’s latest album, Plowin’ It to the Fence.

Slaughter has spent time in all of those groups, so it’s no shock to see pieces of each in his solo work. This work is as traditional bluegrass as it gets, and there’s a lot of bang for the buck at 15 songs — a chunky project in this day and time.

This is Slaughter’s fifth solo album, this time with Elite Circuit Records. He wrote or co-wrote nine of the tracks. Five singles have already charted: “The Lonesome Blues,” “Silent as the Grave,” “Dreamer,” “I’d Be a Cowboy,” and “Fly Away on a Song.”

Tim Stafford collaborated on “Silent as the Grave” and “Graveyard Gone,” which are two of the best songs. Rick Lang pitched in on two tunes and Shawn Camp on another, so the writing is strong. Slaughter is prolific and has written plenty for other performers over a long career, and won the 2012 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest.

In addition to the singles already out, “Wheat Before the Sickle,” Georgia Bound,” “Lost in a Memory,” and “Stranger in Our Town” are among the best the album has to offer.

Slaughter said that the new work is among is all time favorite personal projects because it showcases his current band lineup of him on guitar, Ron Inscore on mandolin, Trevor Watson on banjo, and Cliff Bailey on bass.

This is a solid effort from top to bottom, and those longing for more of the bluegrass sound they grew up loving in the last century will want to add Plowin’ It to the Fence to their playlist or CD collection.