SCOTT BRANNON
YOUR OLD STANDBY

Patuxent Music
PXCD 241

Since his early years, this Martinsburg, W.Va., native has established himself as one of the finest voices in bluegrass music. He grew up listening to his father’s records by Hank Williams and Reno & Smiley and had an opportunity to see the late Charlie Moore. He has been a member of the late Pudge Warfield’s “Potomac Highland Grass” and Frank Necessary’s “Stone Mountain Boys.” Having grown into a strong lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, he has lent his talents to such as Paul Williams, David Davis, James King, Lynn Morris, and David McLaughlin.

This project is Brannon’s first for Patuxent, with earlier projects on Wango and his own Arden label. For the studio, Brannon gathered together an all-star lineup including Michael Cleveland (fiddles), Lloyd Douglas (banjo, guitar), David McLaughlin (mandolin, guitar), Tracey Rohrbaugh (vocal), Marshall Wilborn (bass), and Patuxent Music’s Tom Mindte (mandolin, vocals). The song selection includes some of Brannon’s favorites from a variety of sources such as Moore & Napier’s “Georgia Bound” and “Dear One,” Don Reno’s “Your Tears Are Just Interest On The Loan” and “Mountain Church,” Hank Williams’ “Singing Waterfall” and “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and Ralph Stanley’s “If I Lose.” Brannon performs wonderful versions of “I Overlooked An Orchid” and the title Jim Eanes classic “Your Old Standby.” His soulful, easy, and relaxed vocal is backed by tight harmonies and stellar instrumentation.

There is no blazing fast bluegrass here, just some nice arrangements over some older standards. It’s good to hear this new effort from Scott Brannon. (Patuxent Music, P.O. Box 572, Rockville, MD 20848, www.pxrec.com.)BF

VARIOUS ARTISTS
GOD DIDN’T CHOOSE SIDES: CIVIL WAR TRUE STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE, VOLUME ONE

Rural Rhythm
RUR-1095

Another Civil War recording? Well, yes. The Civil War continues gripping the imagination of listeners and artists and, in the case of Sam Passamano II, record executives alike. Passamano’s project is a bit different from the rest. Except for the hymn “There Is A Fountain,” he has avoided having his gathered artists remake Civil War-era tunes and avoided the fictional and first-person “ballads” found on most. Instead, there are 12 true events involving, as the notes say, “lost loved ones, acts of kindness, selflessness, faith, family values and brotherhood,” 12 events that have been transformed by several contemporary songwriters (including, predominantly, Mark Brinkman, Paula Breedlove, and Mike Evans) into modern historical ballads that are both compelling and moving.

We hear of a doctor searching for the name of an unknown soldier by spreading the word in newspapers and asking if readers recognize “A Picture Of Three Children” found in the soldier’s hand. We hear in “Carrie’s Graveyard Book” of a woman who keeps a list of all the soldiers who die in the hospital located on her commandeered plantation. Some of the stories, such as “The Legend Of Jennie Wade” and “Christmas In Savannah,” are fairly well-known. Others, such as the title tune or the ex-slave/underground railroad operative “The River Man,” are less so.

While the majority of the tunes here are good, including the uptempo and airy tale of a young girl in a guerilla unit who earns the name “Rebel Hart” and the traditional and buoyant “Old John Burns,” a few are stuck with rather static melodies, using modal and minor effects to simulate old mountain balladry. The stories and the performances, however, never flag, and therein lies the heart and punch of this recording.

Among the lead singers are Steve Gulley, Dale Ann Bradley, Russell Moore, Carrie Hassler, Ronnie Bowman, Bradley Walker, Rickey Wasson, Tim Stafford, and the Lonesome River Band. (Rural Rhythm, P.O. Box 750, Mt. Juliet, TN 37121, www.ruralrhythm.com.)BW

MILL RUN BLUEGRASS BAND
GO BUILD MY CHURCH

No Label
No Number

As the opener, “When I Reach That City,” bursts from the speaker, it is quickly apparent that the Mill Run Bluegrass Band has a deep grounding in the traditional bluegrass gospel genre and are pleased as can be to share those roots with us. Wrapped in that one number, with its optimism and its call-and-response quartet chorus, are all the hallmarks of this successful gospel recording: fine singing, fine instrumental work, and good song choices.

Billie Sue Goff takes the lead vocal on that opener and does so in a style that is largely classic southern gospel, very bright and polished. Interestingly, she starts the first verse a bit hesitantly, but quickly layers on the confidence. That may be by design or by accident, but either way, it works well. For the next six tracks, she sings harmony or, as on “Go Build My Church Simon Peter,” has her lead submerged in a trio. She then returns to the lead, handling authoritatively and wonderfully six of the last eight, most notably “Family Bible,” “I’ve Got More To Go To Heaven For,” “How Great Thou Art,” and “I’m S-A-V-E-D.”

By contrast, her husband Bob leads on only two. “Somewhere In Heaven,” and “Lord Take My Soul” are, however, two of the best tracks on the album. Both are in three-quarter time, giving them an inviting lilt, and both are also slow, which gives us time to luxuriate in Bob’s velvety and pure country mid-range and his expert phrasing. You can’t go wrong with either. Standing right there with them is the rousing and emphatic “Live On Down The Line,” sung by Corey Rackley. A.P. Carter wrote that song late in his career, and it doesn’t get near the amount of play it should. It’s nice to hear it done here. (Mill Run Bluegrass Band, 23366 Neblett Mill Rd., Waverly VA 23890, www.millrunbluegrass.com.)BW

MARY KETTERING
NO RELATION

No Label
No Number

Mary Kettering is currently the fiddler with Northwest Territory, a longstanding bluegrass band from Ohio. Here she plays with some former bandmates and favorite musicians. The project opens with a version of “Amazing Grace” complete with vocals and closes with an instrumental version of the same song. In between, we have a program of songs and tunes that range from pretty amazing to not quite ready for prime time.

Her fiddling shines on many of the breaks and on the fiddle tunes “Bill Cheatam”  [sic] and “Star Of The County Down.” She tears into “Orange Blossom Special” and drives it like crazy. Her improvisations sound more like exercises in arpeggios reflecting her classical background. It takes a lot of funk to wash off all of that classical book learning. “Psychobilly Cadillac” is fun in a progressive bluegrass vein. Her fiddling shines on “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me).”

As a singer, Kettering shows promise, but her reading of “Red Clay Halo” does not compare well with the other versions out there. Her harmony singing on “I’ll Travel On” holds up much better. Her band provides first-rate support and includes, Danny Bryant on mandolin, Jerry Pollack on bass, Steve Baxter on guitar, and either Gary Fossaceca or Mike Ball on banjo. Mary Kettering is a promising talent. (Mary Kettering, 1019 Twp Rd. 553, Ashland, OH 44805, www.marykettering.com.)RCB

THE SWEET LOWDOWN
MAY

No Label
SLD2012

The Sweet Lowdown is comprised of three very talented women who reside on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Featuring fiddle, banjo, guitar, and three lovely singing voices with a seamless harmony, they easily inhabit a shifting musical landscape where bluegrass, old-time, folk, and Celtic music all feel like equal partners.

Sometimes with new regional bands, there’s a tendency to be stronger on either the vocal or instrumental side of things. But this group has an impressively balanced and mature skill set in both areas. Their three voices have an easy, relaxed blend, almost like sisters, with an overall sense of…well…sweetness. But when they dig into an instrumental, they can ramp up the energy level a notch or three. Most impressive is fiddler Miriam Sonstenes’ “Big Wave,” which passes the ultimate test by making this reviewer want to leave his computer behind, pick up an instrument, and learn the piece himself. Banjoist Shanti Bremer matches the fiddle skillfully, with their notes intertwining on the Celtic/Americana medley “Insa And Liam’s Jig”/“Stones In My Pocket.”

Most of the album’s dozen tracks are original songs and tunes, which is the brave and advisable path for a new band to take. The only potential pitfall is that when the originals don’t quite stand out as much as the covers of “Sail Away Ladies” and “Reuben’s Train,” then the band’s compositions run the risk of being little more than frameworks on which to display their vocal and instrumental prowess. Probably the best of the bunch are a pair of songs by guitarist Amanda Blied that bookend the CD, “The Heart Is A Hollow Thing” and “What Goes Up.”

For all that, May is still a significantly polished representation of a group, given that it’s only their second full-length recording. When a group is sounding this good this soon, it won’t take much to lift them to a higher level of prominence in the acoustic music scene. (Sweet Lowdown, Unit C, 1405 Fernwood Rd., Victoria, BC, V8V 4P6, Canada, www.thesweetlowdown.ca.)HK

HAMMER DOWN
THE STEELDRIVERS

Rounder Records
11661-9122-2

More than likely, the past year or so has been both gratifying and trying for the SteelDrivers, a critically acclaimed bluegrass band comprised of five celebrated former Nashville and Muscle Shoals session players: Tammy Rogers, Mike Fleming, Richard Bailey, Brent Truitt, and Gary Nichols.

The band’s first two albums garnered a deluge of critical kudos. However, when it came time to make Hammer Down, the quintet’s third and latest album, founding members Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton had departed. No doubt this made the challenge of maintaining career momentum and meeting the high expectations created by the first two releases even more daunting. But, at least musically, the band’s new configuration (in which lead singer/guitarist Gary Nichols and mandolin player Brent Truitt replace Henderson and Stapleton) has effectively weathered the storm. Hammer Down is imbued with the same sort of urgency, emotion, and artistry that made the first two albums so appealing.

The most compelling elements of Hammer Down are the hair-raising undercurrents of minor-key heartache, mystery, menace, and turmoil that pulse through delightfully tortured and twisted songs like “Shallow Grave,” “I’ll Be There,” “Burnin’ The Woodshed Down,” and “When You Come Home.” Nichols and Rogers repeatedly put the icing on the cake with the unbridled emotion and power of their shared lead vocals.

Even in their absence, departed members Henderson and Stapleton make significant contributions with some first-rate original songs. The ’Drivers really tear into “Wearin’ A Hole (In The Honky Tonk Floor,)” a magnificent bittersweet barnburner penned by Henderson. The band unleashes similar bravado on “Lonesome Goodbye” and “When I’m Gone,” a pair of fittingly titled numbers co-written by the two ex-members.

No doubt the SteelDrivers have recently battled through the kind of growing pains and trials by fire that have derailed many talented bands. But the confidence and prowess of Hammer Down shows they’ve passed their music survival tests with flying colors. (Rounder Records, One Rounder Way, Burlington, MA 01803, www.rounder.com.)BA

CHRIS BRASHEAR
HEART OF THE COUNTRY

Hearth Music
No Number

With a voice both plaintive and lyrical, and with a keen ear for language, Chris Brashear continues to be one of the finest writers and exponents of the sentimental song. That fact was certainly front and center on his 1998 solo CD Wanderlust (highlighted by his originals “Mason’s Lament” and “Lost Soldier’s Son”) and it’s certainly front and center on this one on which he’s backed by such stylists as Tim O’Brien, Mike Compton, and Al Perkins.

Of the thirteen tracks here, Brashear wrote nine, filling his tunes with parloresque emotion and with phrases that bridge his songs back to the sentimental age. In “Listen To Me Mother,” for example, a son explains he will return in the verdant month of May. Brashear could have wrote simply in the spring, but a level of charm would have been lost. Important, too, is the way he closes the chorus of the slow, mournful “Today I Saw The Longest Train” with the archaic-sounding things now past and gone. In that phrase of finality and in the title phrase opening, the chorus are the hooks that place this song among his finest compositions and transforms into a powerful statement of loss and longing, the simple idea of equating a passing train with a remembrance of all that used to be.

Almost on that level are “This Oregon Country” and “A Little Picture,” the former a celebration of place, the latter a lament that pines for the real face, not the picture. His uptempo “Time The Perfect Stranger” is a little obtuse and not as immediately engaging lyrically, but is good overall and reveals more with each play. Also listen for the fiddle-tune with words, “Hills Of Arkansas,” another fine celebration of place.

All four of the covers are excellent choices, but Iris Dement’s beautiful and lilting remembrance of singing with her mother, “Mama’s Opry,” stands out on this very good album. (Hearth Music, 14879 6th Ave. NE, Shoreline, WA 98155, www.chrisbrashear.info.)BW

JOHN LOWELL
I AM GOING TO THE WEST

No Label
No Number

After years of progressive exposure to American bluegrass audiences, first through the wonderful and lamented band Kane’s River, and on an ongoing basis with Growling Old Men, John Lowell has established himself as a significant force in modern acoustic music. With his warm, inviting tenor voice, he sings in an unhurried, comfortable fashion that showcases the carefully crafted lyrics of his songs. And unlike so many of today’s acoustic guitar flatpickers, Lowell chooses his notes on his Mario Proulx guitar with great taste and care, setting each one out sparingly and in perfect relationship to its companions.

On his first solo CD, I Am Going To The West, Lowell takes the listener back in time, back to the era of records by artists like Dan Crary, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and others where their guitars and voices intertwined to tell great musical stories, not just display their hot licks. In Lowell’s hands, his guitar paints elegant landscapes with the power and eloquence of a stunning black and white photograph.

As a true Westerner, Lowell is most comfortable singing about outlaws and rancher’s daughters and being on the road for days. His gorgeous ballad “Sarah Hogan” is one of those tunes that could easily be sung around campfires for decades to come. On “Waterbound,” the listener can hear the ache in his voice at being trapped by floodwater and his own lustful desires, unable to get home until both subside.

Most tunes here are just John and his guitar, a simple combination that works beautifully. His interpretation of “Buffalo Skinners” richly details the trials and travails of life on the prairie, where hired guns rode deep into the plains to hunt the American bison to near extinction. When he joins forces with other musicians, such as his simply adorned, enchanting title track supported by piano and tin whistle, the effect is hauntingly gorgeous and memorable.

There are some clever up-tempo tunes like “Mama Don’t Like It” and a buoyant recreation of the classic traveling tune, “8 More Miles To Louisville” that keep the overall feeling from being too languid. But mostly these are ballads, sung with an easy warmth and conviction.

Musicians, inevitably, are deeply affected by the landscape and horizon of where they live. Had John Lowell been born and raised in West Virginia, we’d be hearing songs of coal mining and other regional topics. As a Westerner, he encapsulates an openness in both his topics and his musicality that shines like the Montana sun glistening off the Madison River. This is music that flows with power and directness like a glacier-fed stream building strength as it runs downhill. A wonderful project from a talented singer, guitarist, and songwriter. (John Lowell, P.O. Box 743, Livingston, MT 59047, www.johnlowell.com.)DJM

JOHN DRISKELL HOPKINS AND BALSAM RANGE
DAYLIGHT

No Label
001

   John Driskell Hopkins met Zac Brown while hosting an open mic night in Atlanta in 2004. A year later, Hopkins became an original member of the Zac Brown Band, playing bass and being a part of the group’s now-signature and powerful harmony vocals. Since then, the outfit has gone on to be arena headliners and to win many honors, including a Grammy Award for Best Country Album in 2013.

About a year ago, Hopkins, a fan of bluegrass and gospel, decided to go forward with a solo album that would explore his love of roots music. One day, he was listening to satellite radio and heard the sounds of the western North Carolina bluegrass group Balsam Range. Without knowing of the band previously, he sought out Balsam Range to ask them to back him up on his new solo album called Daylight.

The end result is a wonderfully-inspired collection of new Hopkins-penned songs that are eclectic, upbeat, different, and entertaining. Balsam Range features Darren Nicholson, Tim Surrett, Buddy Melton, Marc Pruett, and Caleb Smith.

The album begins with “Runaway Train,” a fiery Appalachian-funky cut that kicks off with some earthy riffs by Jerry Douglas on resonator guitar. It’s followed by Hopkins imitating the sound of an out-of-control locomotive running the rails through some steep mountains. Other guests featured on the album are Brown, Tony Trischka, Joey & Rory, Levi Lowrey, and Richard Foulk. Highlights include the cautionary tale of “The Devil Lives In A Mason Jar,” the smoking “Shady Bald Breakdown,” and the country-swing turned bluegrass-romp “The Grass Don’t Get No Greener.” This project is unusual, in the best of ways, and is simply big fun. (www.johndriskellhopkins.com.)DH

CAHALEN MORRISON & ELI WEST
OUR LADY OF THE TALL TREES

No Label
No Number

There’s something exceptionally challenging about the duo format. Two voices, two instruments—nothing to hide behind. Every second of space is as important as each note you play.

From Bill & Charlie Monroe to Darol Anger & Mike Marshall, many traditions have been evoked, challenged, and stretched in the context of a duo. I’d not heard Cahalen Morrison & Eli West before Our Lady Of The Tall Trees, their second album together, but it’s apparent on all 12 tracks that they’ve assimilated bluegrass, old-time, folk, and cowboy music and found a way to make the old sound new again. Their voices manage to sound both weathered and fresh, winding tightly around each other and making the whole sound better than the sum of its parts. They skillfully arrange pairings of intertwining guitar, mandolin, clawhammer banjo, bouzouki, and lap slide guitar, keeping each track fresh and vibrant.

What’s most impressive is that the bulk of their material are Morrison originals, and when they stand side to side with older material such as the traditional “The Poor Cowboy” or Townes Van Zandt’s “Loretta,” they fit seamlessly. Songs such as “All I Can Do” and the title track seem to grow naturally out of traditional folk themes, yet still resonate with a freshness and vibrancy which you just don’t find every day.

So if you think there’s nothing new to be heard in the duo form, give Our Lady Of The Tall Trees a listen and see if you’re as pleasantly surprised as I was. (www.cahalenandeli.com.)HK

BRAD BENGE
NASHVILLE

No Label
No Number

Brad Benge has spent most of his time in music behind the scenes. Hailing from Oklahoma City, he did a three-year stint playing guitar for Byron Berline before learning to work the boards. For a decade, he was chief engineer at Palladium Recording before going on the road for four years as the soundman for Tommy Emmanuel. Along the way, Benge continued to play music and write songs and eventually moved to Nashville a couple of years ago to continue his producing and engineering career, hence the title of this album.

When Benge moved forward with this album, he not only brought his own guitar, bass, drums, and piano skills to the project, he also used his industry contacts to bring in session pickers such as former boss Emmanuel, Ron Block, Paul Franklin, Stuart Duncan, Kym Warner, and Chase Foster. The only drawback here is that I would describe Benge’s lead vocals as adequate and pleasant enough, but not quite strong enough to front a working band in a lead way. Still, this is obviously a labor of love.

To his credit, Benge brings four original songs to the project, going back and forth from bluegrass stylings to more traditional country music sounds. And, he has the good sense to let his excellent troupe of backing musicians take flight on Flatt & Scruggs’ “My Saro Jane,” on which it’s nice to hear Emmanuel’s sweet guitar playing mixed with smoking riffs by Block, Duncan, and Warner. Those of you who enjoy and collect classic rock songs performed roots/bluegrass style, you might appreciate the versions of Boston’s “Hitch A Ride” and Elton John’s “Country Comfort.” (Brad Benge, P.O. Box 178202, Nashville, TN 37217, facebook.com/bradbenge.)DH

JOHNNY STAATS AND THE DELIVERY BOYS
TIME MOVES ON

No Label
No Number

For anyone who may have forgotten the amazing dexterity and talent Johnny Staats brings to the mandolin, let this be a reminder. It may not be apparent in the first track “Never Mind The Mule,” a bluesy medium-tempo stomp about driving his big brown truck for UPS, and it may not be apparent in the first half of the next tune “Time Moves On,” but at that point Staats lets go with a string of breathtaking triplets that seem to ripple on and on. Then you’ll remember—guaranteed.

He and his band, currently including the equal-to-the-challenge talents of fiddler Ray Gossin, banjoist Butch Osborne, bassist Roger Bissell, and guitarist Davey Vaughn, follow those with equally impressive romps through a fleet of original instrumentals “Cuz’in Barry And The Chemical Valley Boys,” “Odie’s Last Stand,” and “Sneak’n Deacon,” and then with the lilting blend of the classical and Celtic “Hannah’s Lullaby.” Interestingly on “Rider,” the album’s lone cover and a tune normally given to excess, Staats plays it conservatively. His solo is no less stocked with impressive ideas, but as are all the other instruments, is confined to a single chorus. Each person gets in, has a pointed say, and gets out.

With the exception of “Never Mind The Mule” (a jaundiced look at the working grind), the vocal originals have a philosophical bent. The title tune (written with and dedicated to his late father) is obviously of that approach, but so too is the slow, forceful “Big Coal River” (written with Billy Edd Wheeler) with its likening of man’s need to keep looking for tomorrow to that of a river’s flowing. The hard-driving gospel of “When I Leave This World” and the watercolor ode to lost love in “Not Holding Your Hand” also follow that pensive approach, leaving us thinking and, as with this album as a whole, with some good music. (Roger Bissell, 52825 Rice Run Rd., Coolville, OH 45723.)BW