Reviews

BARCELONA BLUEGRASS BAND SET LIST  Red Pig Recordings DLBI/102 From the rolling bluegrass hills of España comes the third album from the Barcelona Bluegrass Band. Set Listis a collection of covers and fan favorites from the band’s live shows. The album launches with a stirring rendition of the Earl Scruggs classic “Reuben,” spotlighting the impressive chops…

THE CABIN CREEK BOYS FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN No Label No Number The Cabin Creek Boys (and ladies) play high-energy stringband music, which they describe as old-time or sometimes simply “hillbilly.” To my ear, on some of their vocals (especially trios), they sound more like a bluegrass-styled group. On the other hand, their instrumentals are…

JOHNNY & EDITH JACKSON WITH JAMES STILTNER THE OLD TIME WAY Ramblin’ Records RR178 This reviewer has a long history of being favorably inclined to old-time singing by husband-wife duos, especially those from the southern highlands. Their style of singing and accents are part of it, but perhaps more importantly, their intense impassioned delivery awakens…

RICK LANG THE UNDERTOW Rick Lang Music RLM CD1006 A concept album in the making for over 25 years, Rick’s collection of songs with story lines connected to the ocean reflects his passion for family legacy derived from the fishing villages of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Planning began in 2011 with engineer/producer Bob Dick…

PETER ROWAN CARTER STANLEY’S EYES Rebel Records REB-CD-1861    In 1966, a few months before Carter Stanley died, Bill Monroe asked Peter Rowan to drive him from Nashville to the Clinch Mountains of Virginia. They found the elder Stanley Brother in a field, with mortality weighing heavy on his mind. Monroe said, “Carter, this here’s Pete…

CURTIS McPEAKE & ANDY MAY THE GOOD TIMES OUTWEIGH THE BAD Swift River Music SRM CD-120 McPeake & May have now added to the recent collection of Flatt & Scruggs cover-song projects, first begun by the Earls Of Leicester four years ago and recently added to by Wayne Taylor’s Carnegie Tradition earlier this year. Included…