Bluegrass Unlimited #1 Albums...Plus

[Ojai Sam]

Bluegrass Unlimited has been around since 1966. Starting as a mimeographed pamphlet, it now appears monthly as a full color magazine chock full of news, interviews and reviews for the bluegrass community. BU's monthly charts of top singles and albums is closely watched as the most reliable barometer of popularity in this niche market. Bluegrass is thriving right now with dozens of groups old and new competing for audiences on the festival circuit. Having a new record to sell at shows is both a key marketing tool and a major source of revenue, resulting in annual releases of amazingly high quality from most artists.

To keep Music Gourmets up to date on the pickers, we will start a new series (naturally with a Spotify playlist) to feature each month's #1 album as well as other notable new releases. If you are new to bluegrass, this will be an easy way to become familiar with the current scene. Feel free to comment and share your own discoveries.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Gibson Brothers - In The Ground (February 2018)

Eric and Leigh Gibson from upstate New York have been performing traditional bluegrass since the 1980's with very little band turnover. Their 13th album may be their strongest yet. It demonstrates why they have won countless awards over the years. I know @SteveT and @BHT are familiar with this one.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Lonesome River Band - Mayhayley's House (January & March 2018)

LRB has been around with several personnel changes since 1982 . Their website gives the current lineup:

Since its formation 35 years ago, Lonesome River Band continues its reputation as one of the most respected names in Bluegrass music. Five-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Banjo Player of the Year, and winner of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, Sammy Shelor leads the group that is constantly breaking new ground in Acoustic music. With two stellar lead vocalists, Brandon Rickman (guitar) and Jesse Smathers (mandolin), with impressive talents of Mike Hartgrove (fiddle) and Barry Reed (bass), the band seamlessly comes together, performing the trademark sound that fans continue to embrace.

Their current outing is another winner in the same vein as last year's Bridging The Tradition. From country covers (Crystal Gayle's "Wrong Road Again") to folk takes (the title cut) to honky tonkers ("It Feels Real Good Goin' Down") to traditional fiddle tunes ("Ida Red"), they cover all the bases with high quality performances. The presence of drums makes their sound a bit more contemporary than The Gibson Brothers but still well within mainstream bluegrass.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Dale Ann Bradley - s/t (April, June, July 2018)

Dale Ann has one of those hardscrabble life stories typical of country musicians in the last century but seemingly rare now. Wiki sez:

Bradley was born in southeastern Kentucky. Her father was a coal-mining Baptist minister. She grew up without running water or electricity until she was a senior in high school. She also lived with heavy religious restrictions with her father being a minister. She received her first guitar at the age of 14, making a guitar pick out of a milk jug to play.

As a junior in high school, Bradley met a childhood friend of her mother who was also her new band director at school. He and his wife sang at Pine Mountain State Park, located in Pineville, Kentucky, in the summers and invited Bradley to perform with them. She played with the band (Backporch Grass) and recorded a few singles and had the opportunity to perform in front of live audiences.

She later joined The New Coon Creek Girls. After working in the group for six years, Bradley went solo and moved to Nashville. She has enjoyed great success, winning five Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the IBMA. These days she also performs as a member of Sister Sadie.

This, her tenth album, features Dale Ann's warm, sincere vocals on a batch of semi-autobiographical songs. She produced it herself with a traditional sound that has echoes of country and folk, using three members of Sister Sadie. A real highlight is her heartbreak duet with Vince Gill on "I'll Just Go Away".

 

[Ojai Sam]

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers - The Story We Tell (May 2018)

Ohio's Joe Mullins is carrying on the bluegrass tradition of his father, the late Paul "Moon" Mullins, long time singer, fiddler and DJ. Joe takes it a step further by owning his radio stations too (hence the name of his band). The Story We Tell is his sixth album and his best yet. The song selection shows Joe's deep knowledge of the genre, with tunes by Ronnie Bowman, Gerald Evans, Jerry Salley, and Junior Sisk, plus classics from Jim Ed Brown, Mel Tillis, and The Delmore Brothers. His vocals and notable banjo work are all stellar. Records like this show the continuing vitality of traditional bluegrass.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Grascals - Before Breakfast (#2 June 2018)

Since Dale Ann Bradley returned to the #1 spot, let's look at this month's #2 album. The Grascals have an unusual story. Formed in Nashville in 2004, they wound up as Dolly Parton's backup band when she decided to play bluegrass (with mixed results, I might add). Two of the members jumped ship to join Dolly full time, so The Grascals were forced to regroup in 2007. Somewhat surprisingly, they bounced back to regain a lot of cred with the bluegrass true believers, who don't take kindly to abandonment (right, Ricky Skaggs?)

While not retro, Before Breakfast definitely comes across as rural. From the deep twang vocals to the inclusion of novelty songs like "Beer Tree", this is not a record to haul out when your supervisor drops by for brie and sauvignon blanc. But if the guys drop by for a cold one, this'll make 'em feel right at home.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Becky Buller - Crepe Paper Heart (August 2018)

Since Dale Ann Bradley stays at #1 this month, let's visit a spell with Becky Buller. Truly a renaissance woman, Becky is the only person ever to have won IBMA awards as both a vocalist and instrumentalist. But wait...there's more! She also composes hit songs for herself and others, produces, and assembled a killer band led by banjo ace Ned Luberecki. Born in Minnesota, after graduating from East Tennessee State University Becky hit the road for 10 years as fiddler with trad bluegrasser Valerie Smith and her Liberty Pike band.

This album, her fourth solo release, shows all of the variety and creativity that makes bluegrass so exciting today. Songs range from folk to old time to contemporary with stars like Rhonda Vincent, Sam Bush and Frank Solivan lending a hand.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Sideline - Front And Center (#2 August 2018)

Since Becky Buller took over the #1 spot, let's check out this month's #2. Sideline started off as the bluegrass equivalent of The Traveling Wilburys: a winter time side project for musicians in different bands that were off the road. But as the band website says:

"Sideline is a pedigreed six-piece powerhouse whose style has set the pace in Bluegrass for over two decades. Founders Steve Dilling, Skip Cherryholmes and Jason Moore can all claim their own historical significance to the genre as members of highly awarded groups, multiple Grand Ole Opry appearances and years of national and international touring.

What started as a side project for the seasoned players soon moved to the front and center as the three were joined by talents of Bailey Coe; guitar, Troy Boone; mandolin, and Daniel Greeson; fiddle, and began to record and release albums in earnest."

Front and Center is their fourth album. It holds something for everyone, from traditional to contemporary. Ballads, story songs, gospel, instrumental, you name it, they execute it well. It's no wonder that Sideline is one of the busiest bands in bluegrass.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Special Consensus - Rivers and Roads (September 2018 to February 2019)

I'm thrilled to see one of my favorite groups hit the top with their 19th album. In fact, I just posted one of their early LP's as a Vinyl Rip Of The Day here.

From the band's website:

THE SPECIAL CONSENSUS is a four person acoustic bluegrass band that began performing in the Midwest in the spring of 1975.
The first band album was released in 1979 when the band began touring on a national basis. In 1984, The Special Consensus initiated the Traditional American Music (TAM) Program in schools across the country and began appearing on cable television and National Public Radio shows. The band has since appeared on The Nashville Network “Fire On The Mountain” show, toured for three seasons as 4/5 of the cast in the musical Cotton Patch Gospel (music and lyrics by Harry Chapin), and released seventeen additional recordings.

GREG CAHILL plays banjo and sings baritone and tenor harmony vocals.
Chicago born and bred, Greg has been playing bluegrass banjo since the early 1970s. He co-founded The Special Consensus in Chicago in 1975 and has continued to tour nationally and internationally with the band ever since. In 1984, he created the Traditional American Music (TAM) Program to introduce students of all ages to bluegrass music. He has appeared on all of The Special Consensus recordings, on numerous recordings by other artists and on many national television and radio commercial jingles.

Rivers and Roads shows a freshness that belies the group's age. Material ranges from traditional to contemporary while the band is aided by guests as young as Molly Tuttle and as old as Bobby Osborne.

on the Sam-O-Meter. One of the best albums of the year so far in any genre.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Sister Sadie - Sister Sadie II (March 2019)

If these women look like they really mean business, it's because they do. Sister Sadie started as a one-time bluegrass supergroup for a show in Nashville back in 2013. Since then, the band has taken on a life of its own, racking up a string of awards topped by a Grammy nomination for this album. Each of the five members is an all star in her own right. The band website sez:

Dale Ann Bradley is 5 time IBMA Female Vocalist of the year & brings her beautiful heartfelt vocals to us, along with her special talent of finding songs from other genres and changing them to fit our style of music. For more information on DaleAnn or her band, please visit her website at www.DaleAnn.com.

Playing mandolin for Sister Sadie is none other than the very talented and soulful Tina Adair. Tina has been a female vocalist nominee and is such a powerful singer and musician. She brings a youthful confidence to our group. For more info, please visit her website at www.tinaadair.net.

Joining us on fiddle is the always charismatic Deanie Richardson. If you've never seen Deanie play live, you're in for such a treat. She commands the stage like no other. Deanie has performed with Bob Seger, The Chieftains, Vince Gill and Patty Loveless. www.deanierichardson.com

On banjo, we have Gena Britt who comes from the great state of North Carolina has played with several critically acclaimed bluegrass bands over the years & is known for her solid & tasteful banjo playing. www.facebook.com/GenaBrittMusic

And last but certainly not least is Beth Lawrence on acoustic bass. Beth is well known & respected by her peers as a phenomenal bass player. Beth free-lances as well and brings a comedic element to our stage show!

Their sound is contemporary but still firmly rooted in tradition. Gorgeous harmonies and stellar picking bring out the most in a strong batch of songs.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Appalachian Road Show - Appalachian Road Show (April, May 2019)

Another special collaboration grabbed the #1 spot this month. For many years, Darrell Webb's mandolin and Barry Abernathy's banjo have been ubiquitous in the bluegrass world:

Webb has been a member of the Lonesome River Band, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Mashville Brigade, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Wildfire, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and now leads his own Darrell Webb Band. He also has recorded with Blue Highway, Mountain Heart, The Grascals, Larry Sparks, Pine Mountain Railroad, Dailey & Vincent, as well as Dolly Parton and Dierks Bentley.

Abernathy co-founded Mountain Heart after playing with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and IIIrd Tyme Out.

Together, they decided to paint on a broad musical canvas, mixing old and new songs to tell the story of the entire Appalachian region. Their record label website explains:

Together, they are embarking on an exploration and celebration of the musical history of the Appalachian Mountain people. One that has been woven together through the years from many styles and strands of cultural DNA. It has been described by some as perhaps the very soul of the region’s rich history. Forged together from the fires of the great Civil War battles to the coal mines of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. From the logging camps of the hills of Virginia to the quartets that sang in the church houses in Western North Carolina, East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. This musical heritage continues to endure.

Pretty heavy stuff for bluegrass but much more fun than it sounds. There's even a well-intentioned nod to diversity with a black prison song. Their first single, the catchy "Dance, Dance, Dance" (no, not a Beach Boys' cover) deservedly got a lot of air play.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Ojai Sam]

High Fidelity - Hills And Home (#2 May 2019)

Since Appalachian Roadshow kept the #1 slot, let's take a look at High Fidelity, a tradition-minded group from west Tennessee. Most revivalist groups channel the look and sound of Flatt & Scruggs, from The Johnson Mountain Boys to The Earls of Leicester. But High Fidelity digs much deeper into the bluegrass canon, coming up with gems from lesser known first generation artists Reno & Smiley, Charlie Monroe (yes, Bill's brother) and Jim & Jesse. Hills And Home is their second album, after a self-released eponymous debut which I just ordered.

Their website shows that each member has an enviable bluegrass pedigree.

High Fidelity formed in early 2014, and they received their first achievement in February 2014 when they took first place in the International Band Championship at the 40th Annual Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Awards. The band consists of five stellar musicians and singers who are steeped in the sounds of tradition and outstanding in their field.

Jeremy Stephens is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the group. He has worked as guitarist and singer for the world famous gospel group The Chuck Wagon Gang, as a multi-instrumentalist on the television show Ray Stevens’ Nashville, and most recently as a banjo player and singer with Jesse McReynolds & the Virginia Boys.

Corrina Rose Logston is the fiddler and first harmony vocalist. She has worked as fiddler and singer with a who’s who of today’s traditional-based bluegrass performers, including David Peterson & 1946, Jesse McReynolds & the Virginia Boys, Chris Henry & the Hardcore Grass, and Jim Lauderdale.

Kurt Stephenson handles the banjo duties and second harmony vocals. He is the 2010 National Bluegrass Banjo Champion at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, and is a staple performer of the greater west Tennessee area both as a sideman and with his own band, Stone County Connection.

Vickie Vaughn is the bassist for the group. She has worked in recent years with Patty Loveless, The David Mayfield Parade, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, and she also fronts her own group, The Vickie Vaughn Band.

Daniel Amick plays mandolin. He has won numerous contests and has worked most recently with Kody Norris & the Watauga Mountain Boys and Kenny & Amanda Smith.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Balsam Range - Aeonic (June, July 2019)

The band website sez:

Balsam Range is; Buddy Melton (fiddle, lead and tenor vocals), Darren Nicholson (mandolin, octave mandolin, lead vocals, baritone and low tenor vocals), Dr. Marc Pruett (banjo), Tim Surrett (bass, dobro, baritone and lead vocals), and Caleb Smith (guitar, lead & baritone vocals). The five original members are all acoustic musicians and singers from western North Carolina. They thoughtfully and respectfully adopted the name of a majestic range of mountains that surround part of their home county of Haywood, NC where the Great Smoky Mountains meet the Blue Ridge, the Great Balsam Range. The members of Balsam Range are extremely proud of their home of Haywood County, NC and invite you all to come visit their beautiful part of the country!

The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 8 critically-acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. The band collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to record 2 albums, the second of which, Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6.

You can't say these guys lack vocabulary. I had to look up the title myself.

The band's 8th album demonstrates why contemporary bluegrass has such wide appeal. It mixes catchy hit singles like "Get Me Gone" with gospel, sentimental ballads and country blues, capped by an audacious cover of The Beatles' "If I Needed Someone" complete with string section and processed harmony vocals.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Plucked from obscurity: why bluegrass is making a comeback

It was once derided as hillbilly music. How did bluegrass become the new sound of political protest across the US?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ojai Sam]

Big Country Bluegrass - Mountains, Mamas And Memories (#3 July 2019)

Since Balsam Range repeated at #1 and we have already visited with #2 Dale Ann Bradley, let's move to this month's #3 album. Big Country Bluegrass makes no pretense of being modern. This group from Independence, Virginia (pop. 947) offers the uncompromising traditional music typical of the south western part of that state.

The band website sez:

Tommy and Teresa Sells formed Big Country Bluegrass in 1987, and the group's name comes from the instrumental "Big Country" that the late Jimmy Martin recorded many years ago. All band members live in and around the Virginia-Carolina Blue Ridge, and their music reflects much of the deep musical heritage found in this region which is at the heart of the Crooked Road Music Trail.

Tommy plays mandolin and does most of the emcee work while Teresa plays rhythm guitar, sings lead and the high harmony vocals. Eddie Gill handles most of the distinctive lead vocals and plays the guitar. John Treadway plays banjo and also sings harmony for the group. Tony King of Galax, Virginia, plays the acoustic upright bass, and bluegrass veteran Tim Laughlin, of Bristol, Tennessee, plays fiddle and sings harmony with the band.

on the Sam-O-Meter. This is the real deal.

 

[Ojai Sam]

David Davis & The Warrior River Boys - Didn't He Ramble: Songs Of Charlie Poole (2018)

Let's enjoy an extra album while we wait for August's #1. No one can deny that bluegrass takes its traditions seriously. Here's an album by an Alabama based group that began in 1960 and has been led by mandolinist Davis since 1984. Last year, they released a tribute album dedicated to Charlie Poole, a seminal pre-bluegrass singer and banjo player who died in 1931.

If you are unfamiliar with Poole, give this one a spin. His pungent old time country songs were frequently covered by folk and rock artists alike. Davis and The Boys bring them all to life in an accessible way, striking a fine balance between bluegrass and the precursor hillbilly string band style.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Dale Ann Bradley - The Hard Way (August 2019)

We met Dale Ann last year and here she comes again with another #1. Instead of autobiographical songs, this time out she presents a selection of unexpected covers along with a few originals. Here's what Porkchop has to say:

Some of the highlights on the album includes, “The Hard Way Every Time”, a Jim Croce song that is the inspiration for the album’s title. When an artist covers a song from a performer with such a recognizable style, like Jim Croce, it can be difficult to make the song your own, while staying true to the original recording. Dale Ann Bradley does a great job with this song. In this day and time, writing a murder ballad that does not sound like every other one out there can be difficult. Bradley and her brother wrote “Pretty, Dark Hearted Emma Brown”, and it is as good as any in that style that you will ever hear. Bradley’s cover of Journey’s “Wheel in The Sky” sounds as if it was always meant to a bluegrass song. If you twisted my arm and made me choose a favorite on this album, I would pick “One Good Wiper Blade”. The vocals and musical arrangement creates a mood from the beginning of the track, and you are immersed in the story immediately. Bradley covers Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” with the vocal grace we have become accustomed to. The album concludes with “Ripple”, a Grateful Dead tune, that Bradley makes sound as if it were written just for her.

The only misstep in my view was trying to cover Bobbie Gentry's signature song. But her moving version of "Ripple" more than makes up for it.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Irene Kelley - Benny's TV Repair (September to November 2019)

There's sure no glass ceiling in bluegrass (or should that be "grass ceiling"?) Lots of female artists occupy the top rungs of the ladder as writers, pickers, singers and band leaders. Irene's website tells her story:

When Irene Kelley left her native Pennsylvania to move to Nashville in 1984, she brought along her guitar, a handful of original material, and a love for traditional and bluegrass music. She was signed to MCA Nashville country division and was adamant about having Carl Jackson, Sam Bush, Mark O’Connor and other bluegrass musicians join her on her first recording project. As she puts it, “The record was country, but the heart and soul was bluegrass.” But, it was a time when bluegrass instrumentation had fallen out of favor down along Nashville’s Music Row, and so Irene concentrated on the songwriting that put her music in front of millions through hits like “A Little Bluer Than That,” for Alan Jackson, as well as songs performed and recorded by Ricky Skaggs & Sharon White, Loretta Lynn and Trisha Yearwood. More than three decades later, Irene has assumed her place in a long line of great American songwriters. She singles out Jean Ritchie, saying, “Jean’s songwriting to me was so amazing, especially for someone just learning to write. Some of my other early influences were Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, Rodney Crowell, Pete Goble, Greg Allman and, of course, always Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.”

Benny's TV Repair is dedicated to her dad's TV shop, where Irene learned to love all kinds of traditional music as a child. Her songs range from rural picaresques ala Tom T. Hall to romantic ballads to gospel and more. Her sincere, largely twang-free voice plays well against the warm acoustic bluegrass setting.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Po' Ramblin' Boys - Toil, Tears & Trouble (2019)

Irene Kelley is still holding down #1, so let's look at a young band on the verge of its breakout. For many new artists, releasing an album on a big label induces a move to the mainstream. Not so for The Po' Ramblin' Boys. Their website explains it thusly:

At a time when most people feel constantly distracted by technology and barraged by the news, authenticity and straightforward honesty are paramount. There’s something about the music of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys that cuts right through the noise of the world and speaks plainly to the soul. Formed in the Smoky Mountains, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are at once exactly what you would expect and not at all what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. No strangers to hard work, the boys are as much at home riding in their 1965 GM Tour bus as they are crawling underneath to fix it when it needs maintenance. But they take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, with stunning results. “I think to a certain extent everyone is just craving music that they can feel, and any music that feels real will reach any audience” says CJ Lewandowski, the group's founder, “We want to put bluegrass right where it’s least expected”.

This band strikes me as the millennial answer to The Johnson Mountain Boys, who not-so-coincidentally recorded for the same roots-oriented Rounder Records label that signed the PRB. Both bands present the hard core traditional bluegrass sound that Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs developed but rely primarily on self-penned material. Toil, Tears & Trouble is one of the finest bluegrass albums of this or any other year.

 

[Ojai Sam]

^
Somebody else likes this one, too. It was nominated for a Grammy.

2020 Bluegrass Grammy Award nominations announced - Bluegrass Today

The nominees have been announced this morning for the 2020 Grammy Awards, and the Best Bluegrass Album category contains some big names and new faces.

bluegrasstoday.com