Category Archives: Larry Stephens

by

“The Back Forty” by Marty Raybon & Full Circle

Marty Raybon & Full Circle
The Back Forty
Rural Rhythm Records
4 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

Many people in front of a microphone just sing. Marty Raybon emotes. There’s something about his voice that tugs your emotions the way he wants them to go, happy or sad. He started in bluegrass then made it big in country leading the band Shenandoah before coming back to bluegrass. I was suspect of his initial return—as many in the bluegrass community were of the wave of country stars who all of a sudden discovered their inner Jimmy Martin—especially since many of the songs on that CD were remakes of Shenandoah hits, but he’s stayed committed to bluegrass, not just looking for a place to peddle some CDs because country radio has frozen him out.

His personal appearances are just as good as his CDs. He avoids useless chatter and sings his heart out for the crowd. I recently saw him perform several of the songs off this CD. One goes back a few decades for a giant hit for Webb Pierce; “Slowly (I’m Falling)” is a classic love song and Raybon speeds up his version (in comparison to Pierce’s), giving it a happy feel more than heartfelt emotion. For emotion plus gospel you need to hear “Look For Me (For I Will Be There Too)” composed by Rusty Goodman.

After you’ve been there ten thousand years, a million, maybe two

Look for me for I will be there, too

If you tie belief in heaven with love here today, those words will touch your heart.

Raybon also shows us he can write. Numbers that he co-wrote include “That Janie Baker,” a fast-moving number with drive—the bluegrass combination everyone strives for—and “Mountain Love,” another lively song that kicks off with a banjo-fiddle melody. “A Little More Sawdust On The Floor” is a call for us to take some time out of our busy lives to enjoy life while we can, while he goes down the road of having messed up his life and now about to pay the cost in “The Big Burnsville Jail.”

He reaches out to country music again for a 1977 number one song from Charley Pride, “She’s Just An Old Love Turned Memory.” Another song from the past is “The Late Night Cry of the Whippoorwill,” released in the ’80s by the Virginia Squires, a group that included Sammy Shelor and Mark Newton. Songs of loneliness and lost love are perfect for Raybon’s expressive voice. Still another country broken heart song is “Hurt Me All The Time,” a 1998 song from Joe Diffie.

This is another solid performance from Raybon, a mixture of country-turned-bluegrass, songs that are fun and songs that touch the heart. As Raybon begins his fortieth year as an entertainer, he shows he is getting stronger as time goes by.

61kqR1M-DTL._SX300_

About these ads
by

“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.

PCP-12001-CD_001__26661_zoom

by

“Reborn” by Mark Newton & Steve Thomas

Mark Newton & Steve Thomas
Reborn
Pinecastle Records
3 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

Mark Newton is no stranger to the national bluegrass scene and has received multiple IBMA nominations for his work. Steve Thomas has been a professional musician for over two decades, touring with prominent names like Del McCoury and, on the country music side, Brooks & Dunn and Lorrie Morgan (to name just two). He was a founding member of the Lonesome River Band.

They have now joined together, along with bassist Matt Wallace (Audie Blaylock & Redline), as a touring band. Reborn is their first CD and it may set the tone for the music they want to play.

I don’t belong to the “if it ain’t got a banjo, it ain’t bluegrass” crowd but, still, I find myself missing the danged thing if it never shows up on a CD (or stage show). Five of the seven tracks are banjoless and on some tracks, even though Scott Vestal is listed as the banjo player, they must have not found the switch on his microphone. “Painted Lady” was written by Willis Ramsey, a name you may not recognize but if you happened to listen to rock ‘n’ roll in the ’70′s you may remember Captain & Tennile’s song “Muskrat Love.” That’s a re-name of Ramsey’s “Muskrat Candlelight.” “Painted Lady” is more country than bluegrass and you have to listen very closely to hear stray notes from Vestal’s banjo until the band takes a break at the 1:46 mark and then his break is so laconic – as is the mandolin break – that you wonder why they bothered.

They include songs that have a clear bluegrass pedigree such as “The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee” (Bill Clifton, Charlie Poole) but even Poole’s version, recorded over eight decades ago, has more drive than this one. The Newton-Thomas version is more like back porch picking after a big supper and Rickie Skaggs’ clawhammer break is desultory. This is a stylistic choice and it doesn’t make for bad listening, but I find myself on edge waiting for them to break loose with some drive until I finally settle back with another glass of lemonade and a cardboard church fan. If you compare Connie Smith’s version of “If It Ain’t Love” with the one on this CD you’ll wonder where the same feeling is.

They do come alive on “Nobody’s Business,” a number recorded under several titles by a variety of artists including Mississippi John Hurt (1928) to Larry Sparks (1980). Vestal, an excellent banjo player, gets to kick it off and you hear a number with some drive. It’s not that all tracks need to be hard-driving bluegrass. They nail Buffy Saint-Marie’s “Pineywood Hills,” delivering the lonely sound the song demands. They take a bluesy approach to the Delmore Brothers’ “Blue Railroad Train”—more laid-back than Doc Watson’s or Tony Rice’s versions but still good—and I quite like their version of “Kentucky Waltz.”

A pleasant enough listen for a sleepy summer afternoon, but one leaving me wishing the boys had put more oomph into it.

 

by

“Kiss My Doublewide” by Bobby Dean

Bobby Dean
Kiss My Doublewide
Lamon Records
2.5 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

As the title track kicks off I begin to envision the video: a smoky bar, lots of young, ruggedly handsome guys and young, beautiful women in tight jeans, all crowding forward with waving arms and looks of adulation. Then reality sets in. I’ve played those smoky bars and clubs and most of the men were not young, nor rugged, nor handsome, and the women …

But I digress. That’s what music should do—take you to another place. “Kiss My Doublewide” is a good honky-tonk song and Dean carries it off well. The unnamed band is competent, but it’s hard to say more about them because country music rarely features the band except as a backup to the singer and a few turnaround licks. Dean’s (not to be confused with Bobby Dean and his Timeless Country Band) voice is on the unusual side, described as “twang” in his press release. Think of Jim Nabors singing a country song in his Gomer Pyle voice and you won’t be far off (that’s descriptive, folks, not poking fun at anyone).

The CD follows a pattern of cover songs and an occasional original, all originals attributed to McGee/Schnyder. The CD could stand more original music and fewer covers because Dean doesn’t hold up well on ballads, especially when you make a mental comparison to the original artist. There’s too much twang to do a heartbreaker.

“Country Country” (give it a second and you’ll get the title) is a play on what, in the writer’s opinion, makes country folks country folks (now I’m doing it) but I confess the only time I drink from a mason jar is iced tea at Nick’s in my hometown. It makes a good country song but it also underlines another issue with this CD. Being indie and recording using your own wallet forces some decisions about economy, but he recycles a few too many numbers here. “Country Country” was the title song of his previous album, and he also recycles “Me and George Strait,” a well written love song, and “The Grand Tour.” Dean’s twang is too pronounced to grab your heartstrings the way George Jones did with this song.

“Little Sister,” an Elvis hit, is hot enough that Dean carries it off but “Don’t Cry Momma,” his version of Presley’s “Don’t Cry Daddy,” just doesn’t capture the mood because of the twang.

“Tonight I Climbed the Wall” (Alan Jackson) doesn’t fare well but “Brokenheartsville” (Joe Nichols) is a better song for him though the twang is strong.

There’s a niche in the country music field for Dean, but his honky tonk is better than his broken hearts.

by

“It’s Just a Road” by the Boxcars

The Boxcars
It’s Just A Road
Mountain Home Records
5 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

Have you read and heard the arguments about what is bluegrass (or country, or southern gospel, or whatever) and what isn’t? Despite all attempts at definition (including “it ain’t bluegrass without a banjo”) the most persuasive argument is sometimes, “I know it when I hear it.” Some CDs and some bands may leave you scratching your head because the music is enjoyable but it has to be hammered just a bit to fit into the bluegrass niche you’ve formed in your mind.

If you’re comfortable with the likes of Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Larry Sparks, and Jimmy Martin, to just name four, in the “yeah, that’s bluegrass” category, then you’ll not be disappointed (or prompted to disturb your hair follicles) when you listen to the Boxcars. They have just a little experience in the music: Ron Stewart is a multi-instrumentalist who has played with many stars, including JD Crowe; John Bowman started with Doyle Lawson then played with Alison Krauss and the Isaacs; Adam Steffey also played with Krauss and the Isaacs, and has recorded and performed with a long list of country and bluegrass stars plus being named mandolin player of the year nine times by the IBMA; Harold Nixon was part of Crowe’s New South for six years and plays a fantastic bass (watch this break!); and Keith Garrett was part of Blue Moon Rising. He is a singing definition of bluegrass and is making his mark as a composer.

Even great pickers and singers like this band can go astray without good material. That’s not an issue on this CD. The title cut is from the pen of Garrett as well as “Cornelia,” a blues-infused, swinging number about a heartbreaker that should be sung around campfires at every festival. Nixon takes a break on the doghouse bass that will have audiences applauding everywhere they play. Garrett also co-wrote “Caryville.” Bluegrass lovers love dark songs and one line from this song should be enough for you to buy this CD: “I don’t think God lives in Caryville.”

According to the band’s website, they went into the studio with no plan for the recording. Plan or not, they managed to reach back through the years for some great songs. When the Carter Family recorded “I’m Leaving You This Lonesome Song” (listen to a bit of it) it moved along at a good pace, but The Boxcars shred the landscape with it, leaving no doubt about their instrumental prowess. Another from the Carter Family is the “Coal Miner’s Blues” and they take a Hank Williams’ ballad, “Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door),” and supercharge it.

Ron Stewart’s no slouch as a songwriter, either. “The Devil Held The Gun” is a dark song about love gone wrong while “Skillet Head Derailed” (wouldn’t you love to know where that title came from) is an instrumental that will be copied by many regional bands.

From the happy “You Took All The Ramblin’ Out Of Me” to “Trouble In Mind,” an oft-recorded (Eddy Arnold to Janis Joplin, Tennessee Ernie Ford to Jerry Lee Lewis/Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard/Keith Richards) blues standard from 1924, recorded here as uptempo swing, they take you on a bluegrass roller coaster. Your only question when it’s over is, can I ride again?

by

“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.

tina

by

“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.

Mike-Aiken-Captains-Cowboys-300x266

by

“The Road Has No End” by Monroe Crossing

Monroe Crossing
The Road Has No End
no label
3½ stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

The role of the reviewer (in my opinion) is giving the reader and prospective buyer/listener clear and honest information about the music being reviewed. This includes explaining the biases of the reviewer—because we all have some.

This crossed my mind as I listened to Monroe Crossing. I don’t subscribe to the belief that a bluegrass song has to be about mother or the mountains, or that every bluegrass performer has to sprinkle their vernacular with “y’all” and “holler” (though I confess I do). We used to include an Eagles hit in our shows that sounds really great as a bluegrass number.

Monroe Crossing (and, yes, they are named after the father of bluegrass) gives us bluegrass with a modern sound. They hail from Minnesota, and you can hear that in their voices. It’s a different sound from all the bluegrass singers from the general area of the Mason-Dixon line and it may take a song or two to adjust your ears. They are excellent musicians and that is showcased in the lightning fast “Bullet Train,” composed by bandmates Lisa Fuglie (fiddle, mandolin and vocals) and Mark Anderson (bass and bass vocals). They know how to drive a song and this one has a familiar but still unusual topic: trains are often mentioned in bluegrass but not “high-speed, solar-powered, magnetically levitating” trains. Chances are you’ll be listening more to the flying fingers than pondering the meaning of the lyrics. Other band members are David Robinson (banjo), Derek Johnson (guitar, vocals), and Matt Thompson (mandolin, fiddle, vocals).

On the subject of trains, Jimmie Rodgers left his imprint on country and bluegrass music and many of his songs had train related themes. “Hobos In The Roundhouse” is a touching and true song about a man who trod a fine line between keeping his job and allowing hobos to sleep in his roundhouse on cold nights. This is what bluegrass probably does best—touch our hearts with stories of humanity.

They reached into the archives for a couple of songs. “Doin’ My Time” is a Jimmie Skinner/Flatt & Scruggs song they include as a tribute to Earl Scruggs while Hank Thompson’s “Foggy River” has been recorded dozens of times on both sides of the country/bluegrass divide. Unfortunately, their usually tight harmonies fall apart a bit on this number. “Last Letter Home” goes back a few decades, recorded by (among others) the Amazing Rhythm Aces and Sam Bush. This is a Civil War-themed song and you should listen to the lyrics.

Through the day I watched those southern boys go down

And they lay like Georgia peaches bruised and broken on the ground

Through the night I wondered was it worth the pain

And I cried not revenge, I called your name

“Rain Was Turning Into Snow” has a great melody as does “If The World Were Filled With You,” both songs about love. “Heavenly Table” is an engaging number about food from biscuits and gravy to okra. While the food may be standard fare on many tables (and I love hominy) it’s fun and offbeat as a song. Another number that shows a sense of humor is “Easy To Get Lost,” based on a remark made after listening to driving instructions that didn’t have the desired effect, “it’s easy to get lost when you don’t know where you’re going.” Who won’t appreciate that sentiment?

They also reach into the world of rock-’n'-roll with The Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress.” They decided on a blazing fast approach while The Hollies were more deliberate. You can make a bluegrass connection though:

Saturday night I was downtown

Working for the FBI

Sitting in a nest of bad men

Whiskey bottles piling high

Bootlegging boozer on the west side

Full of people who are doing wrong

Just change “downtown” to “in the holler” and you’ve got a still and moonshiners.

Trains, love, booze and okra all mixed together with a banjo (there has to be something you can use them for)—that’s pretty good bluegrass.

by

“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.

by

“Barstool Monologues” by Mike Cullison and the Regulars

Mike Cullison and the Regulars
Barstool Monologues
JOEDOG
4 stars (out of 5)

By Larry Stephens

I confess: I’d never heard of Mike Cullison before this CD. So I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the opening bars (no pun intended) of “Wish I Didn’t Like Whiskey.” This is the real McCoy, country music that’s actually country music, honky-tonk like it used to be (do today’s big stars even record honky-tonk anymore?).

The concept is simple. Hollis, the bar owner and bartender (Cullison), is holding court for us, describing the patrons nursing their drinks until closing time in his crossroads bar. Each one has issues and he’s seen them all. He tells us about their problems, then along comes a song to describe them in greater detail.

Cullison (who portrays the image of a man who has nursed a drink or two) co-wrote all the songs. The house band has some seasoned professionals. Mark Robinson plays guitar and sings “Good And Evil,” a hard driving rocker about a woman—what else?—Randy Handley (a member of the Mark Robinson Band) plays keyboard and sings a bluesy “I Can’t Let You Drink Alone,” a song about a man wanting to talk to a friend who is down and low.

Brian Langlinais, a self-described roadhouse singer, guitarist in MRB, is one of the better singers on the CD. This time out he’s playing the vest frottoir, a zydeco staple that’s essentially a washboard worn like a shirt. He sings “Who Turned You Loose,” a song reminiscent of some Travis Tritt hits, replete with an accordion and a steel guitar that sounds like a slide guitar. His wife, Natalie, does a good job with the vocals on “Ghost Of My Heart,” a song of heartbreak, a story of a woman shackled to a memory.

Rounding out the band are Daniel Seymour (bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin; another MRB member), Jason Amaral (percussion), Michael Webb (accordion; Poco), Ben Graves (harmonica), Mike Daly (steel guitar; Hank Williams, Jr. band) and Jeremy Garrett (fiddle; Infamous Stringdusters). These are all seasoned professionals and the band sounds like they’ve been playing together for years.

Other singers on the CD include Jon Byrd (“Prayin’ For Rain,” a man far away from home and wishing he was back), Davis Raines singing a hearbreaker, “‘Til I See Her With Him,” Travis Lamb (“Just Another Night”) and Tiffany Huggins Grant (“As The Cold Sets In”).

The songs aren’t all million sellers but they’re good and, as a classic country fan, I’ll take any one of them over ninety percent of what I hear on “country” radio today. The singers are all good – greatness is in the ear of the listener and they’re all quite good enough to have a fan base around Nashville. If you’re a fan of honky-tonk then you need to listen to this one.