Here is another Light In The Window post from Richard F. Thompson.

A variation of this piece has been published in British Bluegrass News.

Light In The Window – A series of rambles about CDs by bluegrassmercury

It has been a long time since the last Country Gazette album release, but fans of their style of bluegrass music will be delighted to know that the band has been re-activated as Alan Munde Gazette and that there is a new CD available. Made To Last (Munde’s Child Records 003) features the aforementioned Alan Munde (banjo) with Elliott Rogers (guitar and vocals), Steve Smith (mandolin and vocals), Bill Honker (bass and vocals) and Nate Lee (fiddle). Not surprisingly, Munde is very prominent not just on his two melodious, original banjo pieces Traditional Family Breakdown and The Run of ‘89, but on Bill Monroe’s Brown County Breakdown (played in the key of D rather than E) and indeed throughout.

Smith and Lee add to the buoyancy with sparkling instrumental interludes on these tunes and elsewhere. Smith, Rogers and Honker share the lead vocal duties pretty evenly, with the first named having the sharpest edge to his singing. It is Bill Honker who wrote and sings lead on the title track, which is about life in a mining town long after the economic boom has passed. Above The Waterline, a Cajun flavored song about post Hurricane Katrina expectations, comes from same pen. Rogers brought four songs to the sessions, including the ballad, Haul Away, performed largely as a Rogers-Smith duet; Little Teardrops, about a troubled son who ignores parental guidance; and Wave Goodbye, a good addition to the hobo song cannon. Smith’s vocal show-case is the old standard John Hardy. There is a lot to enjoy on this self-produced collection.

Balsam Range, so called because of a mountain ridge close to where they are based, is another of the very good new bands hailing from western North Carolina. Last Train To Kitty Hawk (Mountain Home 12062) is their second album in quick succession. Individually, they are Buddy Melton (fiddle), Darren Nicholson (mandolin), Marc Pruett (banjo), Caleb Smith (guitar) and Tim Surrett (acoustic bass and xenophobic guitar). Each is a top-notch musician who combine well on both fast-paced songs and slower numbers. All but Pruett contribute vocally and each shares the lead role.

There is a good balance between secular material and sacred. In the former category is Melton’s plaintive Julie’s Train, Chris Stapleton’s beautiful Somewhere In Between, the title track, about change and progress, and Smith’s Jack Diamond, a story about the old west. Alongside these new songs are modern treatments of Ralph Stanley’s I’m Lonesome Without You and Charlie Monroe’s most apt Down In Caroline. In the latter category are Place No Wreath, Spring Will Bring Flowers, Don’t Take Me Tonight As I Am, with Jeff Collin’s piano in the mix, and Dottie Rambo’s The Holy Hills, with a high baritone part sung by Karen Peck Gooch to Surrett‚Äòs lead and Melton‚Äòs tenor vocals. There is a single instrumental to close an album that has some well conceived arrangements. (more…)

Here is another Light In The Window post from Richard F. Thompson.

A variation of this piece has been published in British Bluegrass News. A fourth installment will be along in a week or so.

Light In The Window – A series of rambles about CDs by bluegrassmercury

Earl Scruggs has often trod the boards at the Ryman Auditorium. Firstly as a member of the Blue Grass Boys, later with his partner Lester Flatt and then with sons, Randy and Gary, leading the Earl Scruggs Review. More recently, on 21 June 2007 to be precise, Scruggs gathered together his two sons and a group of friends to play once more for a Ryman audience. The show was recorded and 18 tracks have been released as Earl Scruggs with Family & Friends The Ultimate Collection: Live At The Ryman on the Rounder label (0618).

The set comprised a selection of songs and tunes from most phases of Scruggs’ career as an ace banjo player. Kicking off with a boisterous rendition of Salty Dog Blues, Scruggs follows with the high-lonesome Borrowed Love, recently penned by Earl, Randy and Dwight Yoakam; two Scruggs originals, Earl’s Breakdown and Foggy Mountain Breakdown; the infectious Soldier’s Joy, Doin’ My Time and The Ballad Of Jed Clampett along with another from the popular folk catalog, Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere; the Carter Family’s You Are My Flower, dedicated to the then recently departed Louise Scruggs, and showcasing Scruggs‚Äò lead guitar picking; and concludes with Lonesome Ruben.

Earl is ably supported by Randy (acoustic guitar and lead vocals) and Gary (bass and lead vocals). In the friends category is Rob Ickes (Dobro ®), John Jorgenson (mandolin, electric guitar, clarinet and vocals), Jon Randall (acoustic guitar and lead vocals), Hoot Hester (fiddle and vocals) and John Gardner (drums). The result is generally more Earl Scruggs Review than early Flatt & Scruggs, but it is an enjoyable fast-paced show. Great stuff from an 83 year old!

One of the hottest bands on the circuit at the moment is Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. Their latest CD  Leavin’ Town (Rounder 0596) starts in a blaze of driving banjo that signals a menu of full-on hard-core bluegrass. Serving the dishes are Cleveland himself (fiddle, lead and rhythm guitar), Jesse Brock (mandolin and rhythm guitar), Todd Rakestraw (guitar), Marshall Wilborn (bass) and John Mark Batchelor (banjo), with co-producer (with Cleveland) is Jeff White (guitar) guesting. (more…)

…of editor at British Bluegrass News.

We have been privileged to publish much of Richard’s writing here on The Bluegrass Blog this past few years, and congratulate both he and the British Bluegrass Music Association, who publishes BBN, for his being elevated to the editor’s desk.

Richard was a former editor in the mid 1990s, and has been serving recently as Features Editor of the quarterly magazine.

Thompson says that his plan is brandish the editor’s pencil more so than the author’s…

“I am hoping to actually reduce the amount that I write for the magazine, aiming to gather together a pool of quality writers to contribute stories on an occasional basis.”

Interested writers can reach Richard by email.

Not many American bands have invested in a DVD recording of their show. For a British band to do so it is positively ground-breaking. That’s what the west of England quartet the Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys have done and with good reason.

Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys use only a single mic at their personal appearances, meaning that they are a dynamic and visually appealing band.

The band consists of Brian Schofield (banjo, guitar and vocals), Jules Bushell (bass fiddle and vocals), Martin Schofield (Dobro®, guitar and vocals) and Nick Girone-Maddocks (mandolin, guitar and lead vocals). Girone-Maddocks is front and centre in so much of what the band do, singing lead as mentioned already, writing the original songs that Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys perform in this show [recorded December 1, 2007 at their regular haunt, the Wellington Arts Centre] and doing most of the inter-song chat.

This performance pitches a good mix of original songs with a variety of material from other sources, including songs from Steve Earle – Copperhead Road – and Townes van Zandt – White Freight Liner Blues. It seems that they have a penchant for travelling songs, including two others in their set, the original New Train Song and Paul Kraft’s (sic) Midnight Flyer.

The video begins with a trip around some Somerset lanes to the venue and shows preparations for the show, accompanied by an enjoyable version of Rocky Top. Once the performance gets started there is an immediate engagement of the audience, which is persuaded to sing along in a couple of instances. Girone-Maddocks is an excellent writer and four out of the first five songs are penned by him, a sign to me of their quality and the level of confidence that they have in them, such that they grab and hold the audience. Before I Die, I Get So Down, Feels Like Home and Carolina Calling do just that. (more…)