Dailey & Vincent
Dailey & Vincent
Rounder Records
4.5 stars (out of 5)

Dailey & Vincent signal exactly what they’re all about by kicking off their debut CD with “Sweet Carrie.” Joe Dean’s banjo accelerates into Jamie Dailey’s clear, high and powerful lead vocals, which in turn are joined by flawless harmony vocals from bassist Darrin Vincent and mandolinist Jeff Parker. And in just 30 seconds you’ve got a strong dose of the vibrant modern bluegrass – not too traditional, not too progressive – that follows on 11 more tracks.

Vincent, former guitarist and baritone singer in Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder, steps into the vocal spotlight with engaging lead singing on “Cumberland River,” “Don’t You Call My Name,” and “Music of the Mountains” and on gospel numbers “Place on Cavlary” and “My Savior Walks with Me Today,” the latter a beautiful Monroe Brothers-style duet with Dailey singing tenor and just guitar and mandolin backing.

Gillian Welch’s “By the Mark” get similar treatment, with Dailey taking the lead on what must be considered the best “bluegrass” version of this modern classic.

Dailey, who gained countless fans from his several years in Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver, is equally adept at quick-steppers like “Sweet Carrie” and “Poor Boy Workin’ Blues” as he is on mid-tempos like “More Than a Name on a Wall,” “River of Time,” “Take Me Back and Leave Me There,” and the gospel showpiece “I Believe.”

The picking throughout, though clearly subservient to the vocals, is first-rate, with Andy Leftwich and Stuart Duncan handling the studio fiddle duties with their characteristic brilliance.

by Aaron Keith Harris