Buddy Greene - A Few More Years

BUDDY GREENE
A FEW MORE YEARS
Rufus Music Co.
RMCD195315

Singer/songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica maven Buddy Greene has worked with dozens of country, gospel and bluegrass names in and out of Nashville, but one of his most important relationships was with former employer and mentor Jerry Reed. After the recent deaths of Reed and of Greene’s father, Greene was inspired to make A Few More Years, a 14-track acoustic gospel record that clocks in at a generous 57 minutes.

With plenty of harmonica, piano, and Celtic instrumentation, there’s no bluegrass music here per se, but this list of great pickers make this project attractive to bluegrass fans: Jerry Douglas (resonator guitar), bassists Dennis Crouch and Byron House, Pat Flynn (guitar and mandolin), Bryan Sutton (guitar), and fiddlers Aubrey Haynie and Luke Bulla. Also, Vince Gill contributes harmonies to the sweeping, ancient-toned title track, while Ben and Sonya Isaacs sing on the gorgeous “Shall We Gather At The River.”

Greene’s engaging vocal style comes across well on “Twelve Gates To The City,” “Denomination Blues,” “How Can I Keep From Singing,” and “What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?” He also turns in a tour de force on Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times.” His originals “The God Who Rescued Me” and “In the New Jerusalem” fit right in, making this a heartfelt disc that will satisfy any fan of folk-tinged gospel music. (Buddy Greene, P.O. Box 3687, Brentwood, TN 37024, www.buddygreene.com.) AKH