Reviews

BUDDY GREENE LOOKING BACK Rufus Music RMCD195320 Consider this: Buddy Greene, 40-plus years in music, 20 albums, and a list of contributors that includes Ron Block, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Aubrey Haynie, Bryan Sutton, Del McCoury, a couple of Isaacs, and a host of other musical standouts too numerous to list. Oh, and keep in…

BALSAM RANGE MOUNTAIN OVERTURE Mountain Home MH17162 Eleven years, a half-dozen albums and two IBMA Awards into its stellar career, this acclaimed North Carolina-based five-piece band has come up with an adventurous alternative to the standard Greatest Hitsalbum. Balsam Range (which in 2014 won both the IBMA’s Entertainer Of The Year and Vocal Group Of The Year)…

BRENNEN ERNST HAD A BIG TIME TODAY Patuxent Music CD-307 There was a time when a lot of bluegrass music was this good. The banjo rolls, the busy backup fiddle, the great vocals, and a wide range of material from many sources. The pulling in of traditional nuances, putting that edgy swing into the old,…

FLASHBACK DENVER SNOW Pinecastle Records PRC 1214 Flashbackwas a J.D. Crowe & The New South release from 1994 which featured Richard Bennett, Don Rigsby, Curt Chapman, Randy Howard, and J.D. This album, along with its predecessor Foxhounds & Fiddlesfrom 2017, features Bennett, Rigsby, Chapman, and banjoist Stuart Wyrick and is an offshoot of a recent reunion…

THE DOWNTOWN MOUNTAIN BOYS HEY JOHN No Label No Number    This Washington State band has a firm grasp of the genre and the winning combination of instrumental hot licks, strong vocals, and great material. They embody that West Coast sound originally heard from bands like the Country Gazette. While no one member stands out, the…

TENNESSEE JED PIMPGRASS No Label No Number “Tennessee Jed” Fisher has put together a project of mostly original tunes that cover the gamut of bluegrass, country, R&B, and Americana. On this fifth effort, he’s gathered an impressive ensemble of stellar musicians. There’s Scott Vestal (banjo) and Todd Parks (bass) from the Sam Bush Band, Luke…