Restless

Well all I can say is “Wow, folks!” Adam McIntosh has got a hit record here with his solo debut Restless, from Billy Blue Records. Boasting big talent from some of his fellow bluegrass constituents such as Jason Barie from the Radio Ramblers, and Evan Lanier of Dry Branch Fire Squad. The album features vocals of Jesse Smathers of Lonesome River Band and Mike Rogers of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, to name a few, sitting in on songs like the evangelical “Hand of God.” 

Adam McIntosh makes a big display of artistic integrity here. He draws from a variety of musical influences, some beyond the usual suspects of this genre.  His smooth rendition of the Eagles song “Peaceful Easy Feeling” features the voice of his sister Angie McIntosh Lewis. “Say Something,” from the group Big World, features John Meador of Authentic Unlimited. Despite the huge time gap between these songs having first been released (“Peaceful Easy Feeling” in 1966 and “Say Something” in 2014), he still weaves them deep into the cloth of bluegrass and Americana, and in turn shows the timeless nature of music.

There’s a whole troupe of banjo players on here, including Ned Luberecki, Ron Stewart and Scott Vestal—who plays on the title track “Restless” with his unique Stealth banjo. Mitch Meador joins in picking mandolin on the first track “Baby, You Ain’t Baby Anymore.” Jason Barie plays fiddle with gusto on the entire album. Adam McIntosh again shows his musical prowess with amazing guitar picking and vocals, but also bass, banjo, mandolin and harmony vocals. On a graceful final note, the record ends with the beautiful acapella of “Higher Than I,” featuring Mike Rogers and Dale Perry.

Hearing this first record of Adam McIntosh, I definitely want to hear more; I’m sure IBMA, and others, will be looking at Restless to be included in future award ceremonies. We got a real keeper here.