A number of CDs we have discussed recently on The Bluegrass Blog have hit this past few weeks.

The sophomore release from Grasstowne, The Other Side Of Towne, came out on October 6. As visible as these guys have been since they formed in December of 2006, it seems a bit odd that this is only their second CD. Perhaps that is because these guys had all been involved in top-tier bluegrass bands for so many years beforehand.

Grasstowne features Alan Bibey on mandolin, Steve Gulley on guitar, Phil Leadbetter on resonator guitar, Jason Davis on banjo and Dale Perry on bass. All contribute vocally, with Gulley and Bibey doing the lead singing.

You can hear several audio samples (and read some comments from Alan Bibey) in our August preview, and samples from all 14 tracks can be found on the Grasstowne site and in iTunes.

Larry Sparks’ I Just Want To Thank You Lord was released on October 20, the official debut of Rural Rhythm Christian, a new division of the popular California-based label. Though previously released in 2001 to very limited distribution, the tracks have been remastered and this music will be new to the great majority of Sparks fans far and wide.

This music is classic Sparks – unpretentious, unadorned and, frankly, unequaled. Larry’s singing and guitar are in fine form with stellar contributions from Josh McMurray on banjo, Scott Napier on mandolin and Matthew Madden on bass. The sparse arrangements perfectly suit the gravity of the material, and I would rank I Just Want To Thank You Lord with the very best work of his long and remarkable career.

Here’s a taste of the title track, a Sparks original composition.

I Just Want To Thank You Lord – Listen Now    

What a gem. The full track also includes a poignant recitation.

Look for I Just Want To Thank You Lord wherever you purchase CDs online. The digital release will be on November 17.

Del McCoury may be slowing down his tour schedule, but not his recorded output. After releasing a 4 CD set of newly-recorded music earlier this year (Celebrating 50 Years of Del McCoury), Del is back with another new album, Family Circle (October 20), featuring his crack band.

McCoury has developed a trademark sound recording music from outside of bluegrass – often way outside – but performing it with the approach and sensibility of a traditional bluegrass band. Unsurprisingly, this new project follows that recipe to a “T,” and the result is yet another thoroughly enjoyable visit with Del and the boys.

Powerful and artful accompaniment is provided by Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle and Alan Bartram on bass.

You can hear full audio from all 14 tracks in our earlier preview, and samples in iTunes.

Rural Rhythm Records will launch their Gospel imprint (Rural Rhythm Christian) with a newly remastered reissue of a Larry Sparks Gospel album released in 2001 to limited distribution.

I Just Want To Thank You Lord features Larry with his band at the time: Scott Napier on mandolin, Josh McMurray on banjo and Mathew Madden on bass. Sparks supervised the mastering, sequencing and packaging – along with the good folks at Rural Rhythm – and has also cut a new version of the title track.

Sam Passamano with Rural Rhythm tells us how this all came to be…

“I was originally talking to Larry about future projects when he discovered that we were starting a new Christian Label. He told me that he has a really special Gospel album that would be perfect for us to release because of our strong promotion and distribution abilities.

We have had a really good time working together on this album and Larry and I look forward to a long line of album projects that we can work on together in the future.”

Tracks include:

Look for I Just Want To Thank You Lord to hit on October 20 on Rural Rhythm Christian, followed on October 27 by Blue Ridge Mountain Memories, 20 Gospel Favorites (Yesterday & Today) from The Marksmen Quartet.

The first single to bluegrass radio will be What Kind Of Man Jesus Is, a Larry Sparks original. It will appear on Rural Rhythm’s Fresh Cuts and Key Tracks No. 6, and their 2009 IBMA Convention CD Sampler.

Larry Sparks just sent along a photo of his latest edition of The Lonesome Ramblers, taken this past weekend at the Red, White and Bluegrass Festival in Morganton, NC.

Larry is taking a larger group out this summer, including a couple of talented young pickers.

Fiddler Olivia Smiley, who also fronts her own group, surely speaks for the whole band regarding Sparks’ place in bluegrass.

“Larry Sparks has always been one of my favorite bluegrass artists because he has a sound all his own. He’s got such a soulful voice and is able to pick out the perfect material to suit him.

It’s a real honor to be working alongside a living legend.”

Traveling with Larry this summer is Carl Berggren on mandolin, his son Eli Berggren on guitar, Tyler Mullins on banjo, D. Sparks on bass, Smiley on fiddle and Sparks on guitar and lead vocals.

We’ve been in touch recently with Fred Robbins, a photographer and bluegrass enthusiast who has posted a brilliant set of photos from the 1972 Country Gentlemen Festival at Indian Ranch online. This was the first such festival hosted by the Gents, held in Webster, MA.

Fred tells us that he just stumbled across the slides after decades sitting in a box, and says that he is delighted to be able to share them with the bluegrass community.

If you enjoyed the Bluegrass Country Soul DVD released in 2006, you are sure to appreciate Fred’s photos, which were taken a year after the festival documented in that DVD. New bluegrass fans will get a kick out of seeing some of today’s premier artists when they were younger, and folks who were following bluegrass in the 1970s will have some powerful memories rekindled.

There are shots of The Country Gentlemen, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, James Monroe, Bluegrass 45, The McLain Family, Mac Wiseman, IInd Generation and the original Newgrass Revival.

Here are a few images Fred agreed to let us post, but you really need to see them all, put together in a very nice slide show online.

               

Fred also has a great many audio and video recordings from bluegrass events posted where they can be seen and heard online.