Category Archives: 4 and 4.5 Star Albums

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“On the Edge” by Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
On The Edge
Compass Records
4 stars (out of 5)

By Donald Teplyske

I first became aware of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen upon the release of their debut self-titled album a few years ago. What caught my attention was their performance of John Stewart’s “July, You’re a Woman;” while the song had been recorded by other bluegrass bands, their inspired interpretation of this seldom-recorded song caused me to keep track of the band’s progress, and inspired me to delve deeper to discover a very enjoyable recording.

Solivan, a well-respected chef and mandolinist based in the D.C. area, returns with an album on Compass Records. With banjoist Mike Munford the sole holdover from the last album, Solivan and co-producer Brett Truitt maintain the band’s core musical philosophy: staying true to the music’s heart and soul while injecting a contemporary swagger born of diverse influence.

On The Edge doesn’t let up, not even when it slows down. A good example of this is the album’s first two songs. While “I Fell Short” is a spirited and ferocious kick-off, “Gone” takes a step or two back from the edge, allowing its intensity to smoulder; it is within this type of song that Solivan shines as a vocalist.

Danny Booth, who some will recognize from his time in the Kathy Kallick Band, offers harmony vocals while laying down the deep end. The native of Alaska also takes center stage to perform his own “Wild Unknown” with Solivan.

Youthful Chris Luquette produces sweet guitar licks all through the recording; especially notable is his work within “The Letter,” an interpretation of the Boxtops’ staple. Solivan may not match the desperation Alex Chilton conveyed on “The Letter”, but one can’t argue that Dirty Kitchen make the song their own.

Mike Munford, on the 5-string, demonstrates that he is pivotal to the band’s success. While apparent throughout the recording, Munford comes to the fore on his own “M80″ and the album’s other instrumental, the disc closing “Bedrock.” Yabba Dabba Do!, indeed.

Each song has something positive to offer, but the final vocal track “No Chance” may be the finest; everything comes together within this four-minute slice featuring extended, focused breaks and a convincing, first-person confessional.

Perennial Dobro Player of the Year Rob Ickes appears on four tracks, while Tim O’Brien contributes tenor to “On the Edge of Letting Go,” his vocal aura is so palpable as to favorably color the performance.  Listening without liner notes, I found myself thinking, “That sounds like a Tim O’Brien song.”

Solivan’s cousin Megan McCormick also sings on two tracks, including on her own “Gone,” co-written with Tami Hinesh. Solivan also contributes violin on select tracks.

On The Edge is evidence that Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen are at the fore of bands showing the potential to lay claim to the top-rank within the modern bluegrass generation.

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“Hammer Down” by the SteelDrivers

The SteelDrivers
Hammer Down
Rounder Records
4 stars (out of 5)

By Aaron Keith Harris

Bluegrass music is a hard soundscape in which to try and do something new. Synthesized in 1946 by Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and friends, it is still a young musical style, but its unwritten rules and widely practiced traditions have made rare the bands that spring fully formed on the scene with a radically new sound that still deserves the label bluegrass.

A collective of Nashville pickers and singers, the SteelDrivers did that in 2008, integrating the sounds and swagger of outlaw country and blues-rock (though not straight blues, that’s a challenge still waiting to be met) into the bluegrass sound without adding extraneous instrumentation or needlessly complicated arrangements.

They perfected their recorded style with 2010‘s Reckless, which was released with the word that it marked the end of Chris Stapleton’s run with the band, leaving many wondering if the group could retain its power without the wild, gritty soul that the truly gifted lead singer gave the band.

But word soon got out that replacement Gary Nichols was every bit the singer Stapleton was, and Hammer Down confirms it for those who’ve missed the SteelDrivers live shows. Indeed, though after a couple of listens through good headphones I’ve decided that Nichols’ voice is just a tinge smoother than Stapleton’s, I did a few double takes when playing it in the car the first couple of times—the edges are plenty rough enough to leave a mark.

Tammy Rogers’ presence with harmony vocals that are feminine without being soft makes Nichols sound that much stronger, and her fiddle grabs the blue notes and the ancient tones alike. Richard Bailey (banjo), Mike Fleming (bass), and Brent Truitt (mandolin) resist what must be a strong temptation to bash and shred their way through these songs as strongly as Nichols sings them, instead they ride a tasteful swing that make for a wider dynamic range than you realize the first time through.

The ten songs that clock in at 35 minutes are all good, being a bit more varied in subject and arrangement than those on either previous project. The album-closing “When I’m Gone” is a sunnier song that suggests this great band will continue to grow without leaving behind the approach that sets them apart.

 

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“Grace Notes” by Carl Jackson

Carl Jackson
Grace Notes
Voxhall Records
4½ stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

Carl Jackson is a man of many talents. He’s a songwriter (Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver’s classic “Little Mountain Church House,” for one), a singer, and a multi-instrumentalist. He started his professional career on the banjo playing for Jim & Jesse, and, after a couple of short interludes, joined Glen Campbell’s band for a twelve-year run. He has played as a session player with many great artists, a list far too long to reproduce here.

Grace Notes was a labor of love for him. In the introduction he tells us that many people close to him had urged him to make this CD for years. He is the only musician and the only vocals are a short explanation preceding each track. Listen and you’ll pick up tidbits of history that only some can own, such as how he played his mid-1800′s Martin Parlor guitar (the image is an example, not the actual guitar) on the Grammy-winning recording “How’s The World Treating You” by Alison Krauss and James Taylor. You can bet I’ll be listening closer next time I hear that song.

You won’t hear any unfamiliar songs: “Life’s Railway To Heaven,” “Amazing Grace,” “When We All Get To Heaven.” What you will hear is absolutely beautiful guitar renditions of gospel numbers.

I expect the people that listen to this will fall into three groups: those who just listen to and enjoy the music, paying little attention to the commentary; those who can hear the different tonal qualities of the guitars but don’t really care; and those who will spend hours appreciating the differences between a 1940 Martin D-18 and a 1929 Martin 00-21. The first group, especially, may be bothered by the hand squeaks that can be plainly heard. Those are just part of playing a guitar but you don’t hear them on an electric, since your recording element is isolated, and they are often disguised in acoustic music by the other instruments and vocals – but listen close and you’ll hear them. On a solo acoustic recording, one that I suspect was mic’d close and hot, there is no escaping them.

It’s hard to pick a favorite from this collection, but I especially like “Life’s Railway To Heaven,” played on a metal body 1932 National Duolian. That old guitar has some great bass tones. The one number I don’t much like is “I’ll Fly Away.” The finger-picking style he chose for this track obscures the melody line and he repeats an odd finger roll several times throughout the song. But that’s a minor distraction from an otherwise good recording.

It’s hard to imagine a CD like this having wide commercial appeal in today’s marketplace, but if you enjoy the guitar and gospel, music then you need to hear this CD.

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“Feller & Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos” by Feller & Hill

Feller & Hill
Feller & Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos
Blue Hill Records
4 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

Southern Indiana has produced some excellent bluegrass musicians. Michael Cleveland and Ron Stewart hail from southern Indiana and then there’s Milan. Milan High School won the Indiana state basketball championship against Muncie Central High School in 1954, the victory being significant as Milan was the smallest town to win a state championship in the United States at that time (and still the smallest in Indiana to do so). The 1986 film Hoosiers is based on the story of the 1954 Milan team.

But bluegrassers know about Milan for another reason, because that’s the home territory of the Holt brothers of the Boys From Indiana. The original group included Aubrey and Jerry Holt, along with their uncle Harley Gabbard. Later Tommy Holt joined the group. Aubrey now appears on the road with his son and Tony’s group, the Wildwood Valley Boys.

Tom Feller is one of the clan, too, son of Judy Holt Feller and cousin to Tony. Tom was filling in on bass for WVB at the same time that Chris Hill (Gerald Evans and Paradise, Karl Shiflett, James King Band) was in the band. Both have enjoyed varied careers in music and have now become partners. Appearing on their debut CD as their Bluegrass Buckaroos (though it isn’t clear how many of them are really band members) are Brian Blaylock (lead guitar, Dobro), Cody Jones (bass vocals), the aformentioned Michael Cleveland and Steve Thomas (J D Crowe) on fiddle, and Glenn Gibson (Dale Ann Bradley, Marty Raybon) also on Dobro. Feller plays the acoustic and pedal steel guitars, mandolin, bass and sings various parts while Hill plays the banjo and sings various parts. As you would expect, the musicianship of this group is excellent.

They offer a great combination of classic bluegrass and some classic country. Many songs cross the boundary between the two genre so many times that you can’t pin them to one or the other. “Big Blue Roses” (Tom T and Dixie Hall) has a walking bass line and has a pure classic country sound. Along with Buck Owens’ hit, “Together Again,” you can hear some Don Rich in Hill’s voice, a reminder of Rich’s untimely loss that staggered Buck Owens’ career. (From Wikipedia: In a late 1990s interview, Owens said, “He was like a brother, a son, and a best friend. Something I never said before, maybe I couldn’t, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever.”)

Tom Holt wrote three of their songs. “Will Heaven Be Like Kentucky” is a Boys From Indiana number and the likeness of Feller’s voice to Aubrey’s and Tony’s voices is remarkable. “Lost Love” is a slow song that highlights a great tenor line on the chorus while “Those Old Things” will touch a chord with those of us that have a few decades of living behind us.

Who I am is gravel roads,

Pocket knives and fishin’ poles

And balin’ hay on a summer afternoon

Microwaves just can’t replace

Those hot biscuits mama made

Yes, it’s those old things that make me who I am

Yep, that about says it.

“Wasted Words” (written by Don Gibson, a hit for Ray Price) is another borrowed country song that they do well and they don’t forget gospel music. “My Lord Keeps a Record” is a well known Carl Story song that they sing to minimal accompaniment, while they move right along on the Inspirations’ “Is That Footsteps That I Hear, ” a fabulous southern gospel number.

They use new material, Mark Brinkman’s hobo story “The Old Kentucky Man,” and old material like the Delmore Brothers’ “Southern Moon” and the well used “Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar,” but they’ll touch a lot of heartstrings with a written by Judy Feller, “What Will You Bid For My Old John Deere.” You can feel the heartbreak as an old farmer watches as all his dear possessions go on the auction block.

If you’re a fan of the classic sounds of bluegrass, you won’t waste a penny when you buy this CD.

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“The Story of the Day That I Died” by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice
The Story of the Day That I Died
Rebel Records
4 stars (out of 5)

By Aaron Keith Harris

There’s something about Junior Sisk’s voice that makes it perfect for bluegrass. It’s got the ragged edge of a Blue Ridge mountain top, and he balances emotion and restraint like few of his fellows in country or bluegrass.

That means that he kicks the heck out of straight-up, hard-driving numbers like the McCoury-esqe “High in the Mountains” (with banjo man Jason Davis giving Rob a run for his money), the whimsically sadistic “Old Bicycle Chain,” the nostalgic “Good to See the Home Place Once Again” (check out Billy Hawks’ greasy fiddle break), and “Drinking at the Water Hole,” an anthem for those of us in southwest Ohio with roots in the Commonwealth across the river.

There’s plenty more packed into this 12-track, 36-minute project, most notably the title track, which Sisk puts across with the pain and humor required for a tale of a creative way to get back at your cheating wife. “The Story of the Day That I Died,” written by Ashby Frank, could easily pass for a long lost Tom T. Hall track and is a sure contender for song of the year at the various bluegrass awards.

One of the best vocals of Sisk’s career is “If the Bottle Was a Bible,” his wounded vocal getting every drop of meaning from the rich lyrics co-written by Ronnie Bowman. There’s more hard emotion on “A House Where a Home Used to Be,” which favorably recalls both George Jones’ “The Grand Tour” and Longview’s “Lonesome Old Home.” And speaking of Longview, Joe Mullins brings his incomparable banjo picking and tenor voice to an old-school duet of “Lover’s Quarrel.”

Mandolinist Chris Davis leads on the contemporary gospel of “Prayers Go Up,” and bassist Josh Tomlin steps out front on “Another Lonely Day,” adding a slightly more mainstream tinge to a well-produced album that’s puntcuated by a kickin’ run through the traditional banjo instrumental “Jesse James” and “Walking in Good Company,” a gospel co-write between Sisk and his father, Harry Sr. that could have been written 50 years ago.

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“Born Bad” by the Tina Adair Band

Tina Adair Band
Born Bad
TAB Music
4 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

If you’ve been around bluegrass awhile you may remember Tina Adair. She is a multi-instrumentalist and an excellent singer. Her first release, Just You Wait & See, was released in 1997 and climbed to the top ten in the charts. She released another album in 2000 but then disappeared from the national bluegrass scene.

But she’s back, joined by husband Tim Dishman (Special Consensus) playing guitar and singing harmony (plus bass on the CD), Sim Daley, hailing from the bluegrass mecca of Cornwall, England (but now in Nashville) on banjo, and Forrest Goodman playing bass (in the band but not on the CD). She wrote six of the songs on the CD and proves to be an adept songwriter.

She touches country music with a duet with Billy Dean, “Tomorrow & For Always,” featuring some fine Dobro work by Randy Kohrs. This is a love song with a modern country music sound. “Don’t Grieve” is a love song, too, but with a different twist: one of them has gone on to Heaven and this is a message back to the one left behind. Written by Adair, it will tug at your heartstrings.

She doesn’t forget bluegrass’s gospel roots. Included is the old hymn, “Farther Along,” sung as a choir and with a piano. It has a nice touch but the choir sounds like they’re singing in a coliseum and you’re at the wrong end. I wish they had mixed that one differently. “Go And Tell Jesus” is done at a fast pace, driven by the banjo and bass with a good guitar break, a contrast to the Primitive Quartet’s earlier recording. She also does a nice touch with a gospel quartet favorite, “Just a Little Talk With Jesus.”

“Snaker Dan” was composed by banjoist Daley and lets the band show off their instrumental chops. Bluegrass is chock full of great instrumentalists and the members of this band don’t need to take a backseat to any of them.

The title song starts out with a biblical reference but it’s more about the child who was told she was born bad. Another Adair composition, this should be a big hit for her. Good lyrics, good arrangement; this is a track you’ll play over and over.

From a bluegrass rocker like “Now Forever’s Gone” to “Heart I Had To Break,” a slow song that pulls the emotions from your heart, she shows here she can do it all. It’s a shame she’s been gone for so long. Let’s hope she’s back on the scene for a long time.

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“Captains & Cowboys” by Mike Aiken

Mike Aiken
Captains & Cowboys
Northwind Records
4 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

I don’t care much for today’s “country” music. It’s become a blur of lookalike, soundalike singers doing pop songs – at least that’s my take on it. Give me “classic” country. But Americana and other sounds labeled as “roots music” are closely related, and, like classic country, seem to be genres without a home. That’s where Mike Aiken puts his music, and why we do what we do here at the Lonesome Road Review.

This is Aiken’s sixth album but I confess I didn’t recognize his name or music until I checked his website, then one song popped out: “Jagger & Jones.” Listening to Captains & Cowboys other names began popping into my mind: Waylon, Hank Jr., Toby, Adkins (really, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” isn’t the highlight of his career). Aiken’s music is too country to be likely to hit the charts and that’s a shame, because it is great listening.

“Take the Boy Fishin’” has a great hook (pun intended), something my son might say in a few years when my granddaughters start dating. The singer is meeting his girlfriend’s father, a fisherman, for the first time.

What’ya say we go fishin’, just you and me

A whole lot can happen when you’re out at sea

You might calm the deep waters or make the sea roll

Ride back in the captain’s seat or swim back to shore

Alrighty, nothing like a challenge for the girl you love. “Your Memory Wins,” on the other hand is the other end of the trip. “When the whiskey wears off, you’re still gone …” while “Bring Out the Bourbon” is a story about two people, potential lovers or not, sharing their lives over a drink or three.

His songs are about life, whether a lament about how we are selling the Appalachians to the Chinese “one coal train at a time” (“Coal Train”) or the hunt for and destruction of our world’s whale populations, built on the lilting sounds of an old-country fiddle tune intro (“Save The Whales”).

Aiken’s a good singer, whether it’s a sensitive lament like “Whales” or trying to explain the inexplicable, why someone would give up love and a comfortable life to be a cowboy (“Night Rider’s Lament”). He’s backed by borrowed musicians who know their craft, including Michael Webb (Poco) and Tammy Rogers (fiddle and mandolin; SteelDrivers).

He ends the albums with a description of his life. In “Captains & Cowboys” he’ll “save the babies and kiss the ladies,” while living life his way. Aiken has lived on a sailboat for twenty years and sailed the seas. He’s also raised horses and been a farrier. That’s a person who is hard to pin down and his music reflects that.

If you like country music that tells stories of life and isn’t just a riff and a soundbite, you need to have some Aiken in your life.

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“1945″ by Brad Mackeson

Brad Mackeson

1945

BradMackeson.com

4 stars (out of 5)

By Donald Teplyske

By the time one arrives at track three of Brad Mackeson’s second album, a substantial journey has already occurred.

“They say love is for gamblers and broken hearted fools,” is the phrase that Mackeson has crafted to open this stunning sliver of perfection entitled “Love Is For Gamblers,” but it isn’t the only memorable statement that goes into this impressively written reflection—”My scenery may change, but I will never forget your name” and “Freely I give my love, you owe me no debt”—each verse contains additional poetic affirmation of his lover’s perfection.

Like the finest songs from Bruce Hornsby, Mackeson’s are full-bodied testimonials, gently revealed.

At 23 years, the Nashville-based songwriter from Portland, Oregon creates songs that he has no business being able to even relate to; his is an expansive view of his surroundings, with infatuation and obsession walking hand-in-hand with love and emotional devastation.

His voice, his phrasing is his own, although one can’t help but hear echoes of Dylan, Springsteen, and Petty within a spare couplet, a harmonica fill, or an extended syllable. “Thousand Drums” could be mistaken for a mind-expanding Mumford & Sons track, catchy and pristine. Thoroughly modern with roots that run through my middle-aged experiences, side one of this collection provides one of the most satisfying listens I’ve experienced in quite some time.

It is bold and complex, fuzzy and ripped with poignancy.

Flip to side two and things are entirely different, and no less acutely satisfying. The rest of the world drops away a bit here, and Mackeson appears more isolated and the music speaks to this altered reality.

“I’m too afraid to check my own reflection…what if I’m not who I want to be?” Mackeson challenges within “Gonna Be Fine;” like George Harrison and Harry Nilsson did for a previous generation—and I don’t know why they popped to mind, but they seem apt—Mackeson frequently creates complexity from simplicity. Side two is more free-wheeling than the first side, with added vocal effects that remind one of psychedelic-influenced performances heard on long ago, late-night radio. None of which interferes with the connection Mackeson has established with his audience.

Danny Schmidt. Joe Pug. Mark Erelli. Lee Harvey Osmond. John K. Sampson. Leeroy Stagger.

If those names are on your iPod, you had best add Brad Mackeson.

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“Battlefield” by Mountain Faith

Mountain Faith
Battlefield
Pisgah Ridge
4 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

“I’ll Be Gone” and “God Is There,” back to back on this CD, are memorable message songs, especially among those who enjoy bluegrass gospel and are also Christian believers.

Having spent long days and nights with both my father and father-in-law as their lives slowly ebbed away, I believe both would have said, if they could have:

I’ll be gone when I take my last breath

I’ll be gone when my Father calls me home

I know it’s hard to let me go, but I hope that you know

That I’ll be much better off when I’m gone

That last line is the one that’s sometimes hard for us to accept, believers or not, even though we believe it’s true. The next song tells us that even though we grieve, God is there to give us love and support.

Good music with a good message is exactly what Mountain Faith delivers here.

Gospel music is an integral part of bluegrass music. The majority of CDs and stage shows include one or two gospel numbers and many musicians are not bashful about talking in public about their Christian faith. Some artists have published gospel CDs—Doyle Lawson comes to mind—and there are some well known, full time gospel bluegrass bands, such as Paul Williams and the Victory Trio. This is the niche Mountain Faith has chosen. The band is a family affair with siblings Summer Brooke and Brayden McMahan (fiddle and banjo) and dad Sam McMahan on bass (although Tim Surrett [Balsam Range] plays bass on the CD). Their cousin, John Morgan, plays guitar, and the only non-family member, Dustin Norris, plays mandolin. They are all accomplished musicians.

Summer McMahan contributes two songs, “I’ll Be Gone” and “I Will Praise Him,” a slow number of praise with her as lead singer. The vocals are all by the siblings and their cousin. John Morgan is the composer of “God Is There.”

“When It Starts Raining” (lead vocals: John Morgan) has a mountain music sound reminiscent of Ralph Stanley with several phrases accompanied only by the banjo. In contrast, “I’m On The Battlefield” is a straightforward gospel number. It is an excellent showcase for the excellent harmony singing they provide as well as the quality of their instrumental work. They do equally well with a barn-burner like “Living Water.”

While every band wants their own sound, it speaks well of them when their music favorably reminds the listener of another quality group. “It Could Happen In A Moment” reminds me of the Marshall Family, a family group from years gone by that was popular on the bluegrass circuit. “Ain’t Gonna Run” sparks memories of “If That Don’t Make You Want To Go” by The Isaacs, and that’s very good company. They also reach back in time for Luther Presley’s “In the Sweet Forever,” a minimalist arrangement that accents their southern gospel harmony singing.

If their eyes are set on careers in bluegrass then they are off to a good start with this CD. Every song is a good one from a fine family of musicians.

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“God Didn’t Choose Sides: Civil War True Stories about Real People, Volume 1″ by Various Artists

God Didn’t Choose Sides: Civil War True Stories about Real People, Volume 1
Various Artists
Rural Rhythm Records
4½ stars (out of 5)

By Aaron Keith Harris

The Civil War, or, as it’s more properly called, the War Between the States, has been the subject of several great bluegrass songs—”Legend of the Rebel Solider” by the Country Gentlemen, “Last Day at Gettysburg” by Larry Sparks, and “He Walked All the Way Home” by Blue Highway” come to mind—and this 13-track, 45-minute effort from Rural Rhythm Records adds to the list in a refreshing way.

On God Didn’t Choose Sides, executive producer Sam Passamano II employs a strong lineup of singers, musicians, and songwriters to create a dozen original songs (the album-closing hymn “There is a Fountain,” which gets a gentle, yet majestic reading from the Gap Creek Quartet, is the exception) about actual people who played a part, willingly or not, in a truly horrific war.

Paula Breedlove, Mark Brinkman, and Mike Evans, working in different combinations, share most of the writing credits, with Brad Davis, Ray Edwards, Terry Foust, Steve Gulley, and Tim Stafford also pitching in.

The product is some fine original tunes that offer neither the shallow cant that lionizes the politically motivated Lincoln and the butchers he employed as generals, nor romantic notions of the South, which was controlled by slaveholding oligarchs—the one percenters of the South, if you will—who allowed their blessed homeland to be attacked because they put their private interests ahead of it.

One of the best vocals on the disc, unsurprisingly, comes from Dale Ann Bradley on “Christmas in Savannah,” a tale of a group of Union soldiers from “General Sherman’s line” who brought yuletide provisions with mules dressed as reindeer to the residents of the besieged town. It’s a nice story that shows that even in the worst circumstances people find ways to be kind, but there’s no mention of the fact that Savannah was the lone city that General Sherman, one of America’s most shameful war criminals, didn’t put to the torch on his sadistic march across a defenseless south at the behest of Lincoln and Grant.

I know pointing out things like that aren’t the point of this project, but a little true contrast now and then between the actions of politicians and generals on one hand and ordinary folk on the other can only enhance the esteem we have for the latter.

There are a couple of songs that do that to some degree by pointing out the inhumane treatment of prisoners on both sides—the brooding “Providence Spring” from Tim Stafford and the deceptively soothing ghost story “The Lady in Gray” from Ronnie Bowman.

There are also stories of individuals doing the best to act bravely and honorably in situations where such actions seldom come to a good end: “I’m Almost Home” from Steve Gulley whose delivery embodies the snuffed-out joy of a soldier who leads one last charge only to die on the front steps of the home he had left to go fighting, Russell Moore bringing his sentimental tenor to “A Picture of Three Children” clutched in the hand of a dead solider, the Lonesome River Band performing “The Legend of Jennie Wade” in which three friends try to communicate over hundreds of miles to no avail, and Bradley Walker’s voice singing of one man’s “Last Day at Vicksburg” with stentorian richness.

We meet some other great characters too: the feisty “Old John Burns” from Ricky Wasson & Dwight McCall who turn in one of the ‘grassier cuts included here, Carrie Hassler’s melancholy “Carrie’s Graveyard Book” about a woman who honored the dead to an extent far beyond anyone could have asked her to do, and Dave Adkins’ soulful story of “The River Man” who risked his life repeatedly to help slaves cross the Ohio River.

My favorite track from this fine collection is “Rebel Hart,” from Brad Gulley, son of Steve Gulley and lead singer for Cumberland River. The upbeat track about a 16-year-old Virginia girl who used her feminine wiles and incredible courage to inflict improbable injury after injury on those who had invaded her country cries out for a movie version.

Before “There is a Fountain” closes things out, elder statesman Marty Raybon offers the title track with his characteristic humility, reminding us that the God of the Bible who was worshiped by those victimized could never  have ordained an unnecessary war fought for political reasons that killed as many as 750,000 people. One wishes that a nation that had survived such an ordeal would have learned its most obvious lesson.