“Sweetheart” by Sarah White

Sarah White
Sweetheart
Self-released
4 stars (out of 5)

Charlottesville’s Sarah White has something that guarantees, even on a five-song EP, a satisfying listen: a strong voice that doesn’t sound like anyone else. And contrary to the name of the title track “Sweetheart,” White’s voice isn’t sugary at all, but open and pain-filled.

On “Ply Me” that voice is sly and seductive amid a singalong chorus.

White gets a little folkier on “Apple in B Major,” the wonderfully Dylanesque “Where You’re Going” and the dark, wry closer “Half a Smile.”

Throughout, Ted Pitney’s acoustic or electric guitar grips the spaces around White’s melody with just enough warmth.

Here’s to looking forward to a full-length follow-up.

by Aaron Keith Harris

“Satisfied” by John Sebastian & David Grisman

John Sebastian & David Grisman
Satisfied
Acoustic Disc
3.5 stars (out of 5)

Satisfied is a perfect soundtrack for the lazy days of summer – or for imagining what “lazy days” might be like while gazing longingly out of the window of your urban office.

The album as a whole brings to mind a rowboat on the water, parasols, white gloves, hot, sticky weather, and cool lemonade. Recorded simply, with limited editing, Satisfied hosts an honest, easy ambiance. Sebastian takes over the lead vocals, guitar, baritone guitar, whistle, and harmonica, while Grisman provides harmony vocals, mandolin, mandolas, and banjo mandolin.

The song “Passing Fantasy,” is a nice aural tour of summer in the city, while the bluesy “John Henry,” a great rendition of this classic tune, spotlights John Sebastian’s prowess on the harmonica.

This slow, dreamy session is a reunion of two greats who began playing together in Greenwich Square in the 1960’s as folk revivalists, but then moved on to separate, successful careers. In the forty years between, Sebastian and Grisman have honed unique styles, which pair up nicely in this recorded collaboration.

The album closes with the “Jug Band Waltz,” dedicated “to all of our jug band friends in radio land,” presumably paying homage to Sebastian and Grisman’s early gig together in The Even Dozen Jug Band. Rounding out the leisurely album as a “hidden” track, Sebastian reminds listeners of his Lovin’ Spoonful days by whistling “What a Day for a Daydream,” just the right ending for this wistful collection of tunes.

by Katy Leonard

“Different Roads” by The Seldom Scene

The Seldom Scene
Different Roads
Rebel Records
5 stars (out of 5)

At first glance, Different Roads might seem a bit of a disappointment. The Seldom Scene recorded seven albums for Rebel Records, but this compilation pulls tracks from only three. Slip the CD into the player, though, and the disappointment vanishes in a cascade of guitar and mandolin.

The Scene does top-notch work on the fastest track here, “Pan American,” but it’s on slow and mid-tempo numbers that they demonstrate complete mastery of the concept of drive. Thanks to his trick of crescendoing into the ends of phrases, John Starling’s vocal drives as persistently as guest guitarist Paul Craft’s leads.

The full band uses the same technique throughout, always in the service of the music. The way Starling’s voice swells into the last chorus, which then dims to a whisper, is only one of the moments worth studying on “Wait a Minute.” Instrumentalists will be taken with Duffey’s simple yet stunning mandolin break, full of emotion, thanks to his expert use of dynamics. On the verses, Starling tests the limits of his baritone to heartbreaking effect. This classic track is gorgeous, soulful and astonishingly musical from beginning to end.

Repeat that last sentence for “Last Train from Poor Valley.” Starling wrings every last ounce of empathy and resignation from Norman Blake’s forlorn lyric. The way the band uses their impeccable diction to shape phrases demonstrates their exceptional musicality.

That musicality is no accident: Auldridge, Duffey, and Gray all came from the most musical band in bluegrass at that time: the Country Gentlemen. With the Scene, they recorded a compelling re-reading of the Gents standard, “Rebels Ye Rest,” making the original their own with a more urgent delivery.

If music is what occurs in the silence between notes, the Scene made some of their best music with  Starling’s “Gardens and Memories.” The reading is hushed and uncluttered, but driven nonetheless. This is due in no small part to bassist Gray’s distinctive walking bass lines, also used to marvelous effect on “Reason for Being” and “Pictures from Life’s Other Side.”

The Scene’s individual members drew attention to themselves in spite of – or perhaps because of – their consciousness of the ensemble as a whole. “Pictures from Life’s Other Side” boasts an unusual duet, in which Eldridge plays something called a dobro-banjo, weaving in and out of Auldridge’s back-up lines without ever getting in the way of the vocal trio. For all their instrumental prowess, the Scene’s vocals were (and are) what sets them apart.  Duffey, Starling, and Auldridge concocted a vocal blend that never sacrificed their individual sounds.

It takes expert musicians to do that, and the Scene managed it every time they harmonized. The blend is particularly good on “Pictures from Life’s Other Side,” “Old Train” (made better by Auldridge’s peerless dobro work) and “Walk Through This World With Me.” To the latter, Duffey brings his special brand of soul, all the more remarkable because he never shouts.

Soul was the hallmark of this edition of the Seldom Scene. In John Starling and John Duffey, they had two of the most soulful lead singers in the business – a vocal partnership as classic and deeply missed as that of Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin. Their vocals shine with emotional truth, whether on contemporary tracks like “Easy Ride from Good Times to the Blues” (driven by drums and Auldridge’s pedal steel) or traditional favorites like Earl Scruggs’ “I’ve Lost You” and “If That’s the Way You Feel,” from Ralph and Peggy Stanley.

The classic Seldom Scene packed more music into 14 tracks than some bands do into a lifetime of work. “Different Roads” is a worthwhile substitute for the exhaustive box set that they so richly deserve. But, at this rate the current, equally deserving lineup may beat them to it.

by Maria Morgan Davis

“Same Old Man” by John Hiatt

John Hiatt
Same Old Man
New West Records
2 stars (out of 5)

If there’s any truth to the lyrics on his latest album, then John Hiatt is one conflicted guy. First, he’s celebrating a time when “I had nothing to live up to/Everywhere to be” (“Same Old Man”) and dismissing a loyal companion, saying “I woulda took her with me/But that trail never ends” (“Ride My Pony”.)

Then, he’s getting all gushy about wuv. And if that last sentence reads more like, “Hell just froze over,” then here’s a sampling of his lyrics. Read ‘em and weep:

“I wanna thank you, babe/For lettin’ me back in/I wanna thank you for askin’ me/To love you again” — “Love You Again.”

“That’s what love can do/Make you feel brand new” — “What Love Can Do.”

“When the old seems almost new/That’s when my heart burns cherry red for you” — “Cherry Red.”

“Two hearts/One for me and one for you/Two hearts/Do you feel the way I do” — “Two Hearts.”

“We’ve been down a rough road or two/This is another one we’ll get through” — “Same Old Man.”

“There’s nothing written anywhere/That suggests the blues’ll set you free,” Hiatt sings in “Old Days.” Indeed, that might be his raison d’etre for this record. Yes, sentiment can be effective, but if Hiatt should be taking lessons from anyone, it should be Carter Stanley, Beatles-era Paul McCartney, or Richard Rodgers, not the folks at Hallmark. It’s shocking to see Hiatt fall into the fledgling writer’s trap of too much telling and not enough showing. Most of the album’s 11 tracks suffer this fate, and the musical clichés (Hiatt verges on self-parody here) don’t help.

“Same Old Man” has some worthwhile moments. Hiatt’s daughter, Lily, contributes tart harmonies to two songs. Luther Dickinson adds some understated but illustrative fills on National reso. And Hiatt can’t forget himself entirely. There are flashes are lyrical brilliance among the recyclables.

By far the most brilliant is “Hurt My Baby.” Hiatt wails in pain and outrage, about a loved one’s deep emotional wounds: “No need to be explicit/ Anyone can see/The injury was permanent/The wound was really deep.”

When, in a throwaway line, he names the perpetrator(s) of the crime, the effect is shattering, and absolutely free of cliché. Is it because Hiatt has to work harder to comprehend a hurtful situation? Or is he using boilerplate lyrics elsewhere to avoid a deeper understanding of his happiness? In the end, maybe John Hiatt is a lot less conflicted than his lyrics would have us believe. Now, all he has to do is show it.

by Maria Morgan Davis

“Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947″ by Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947
Skaggs Family Records
4 stars (out of 5)

Since his return to bluegrass music with 1997’s Bluegrass Rules!, Ricky Skaggs has been careful to credit the legacy of Bill Monroe as the prime reason for his musical rebirth. Skaggs’ devotion has included a full-length star-studded tribute to Monroe, 2000’s Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe.

So it’s no surprise that Skaggs, with his band Kentucky Thunder, is again paying tribute to Big Mon, this time including the other four members of the classic, original bluegrass band, with Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947.

Instrumentally, Skaggs plays the part of Monroe on mandolin, with plenty of stutters, slides and shouts that would make the master himself proud.

Jim Mills more than ably fills the Earl Scruggs banjo slot with plenty of jazz and twang; Andy Leftwich does the same in place of Chubby Wise on fiddle. Mark Fain is solid and unobtrusive on bass, just like Howard Watts was.

The only major difference is on guitar, where Cody Kilby provides strong rhythm as Lester Flatt did, but also throws in several anachronistic, but impeccably flatpicked, lead breaks.

One would expect this band, in particular, to run wild on rockers like “It’s Mighty Dark to Travel,” “Toy Heart,” “Why Did You Wander” and “Bluegrass Breakdown,” but they don’t quite. It’s as if their reverence for the material has trumped their enthusiasm for it, resulting in a sound that doesn’t quite have the jauntiness of the originals.

However, the mid-tempo and slower tracks are simply stunning, with Skaggs singing Flatt’s lead vocals and Paul Brewster singing Monroe’s stratospheric tenor parts. This peerless duet nails “When You’re Lonely,” “Mother’s Only Sleeping,” “Little Cabin Home on the Hill,” “Mansions for Me,” “Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong” and “Remember the Cross.”

Two cameos make this project extra special: Scruggs himself kicks things off as the lone banjo on the album-opening “going back to old Kentucky” and Del McCoury duets with Skaggs on the album-closing “The Old Cross Road.”

by Aaron Keith Harris

“The Old Step-Stone: A Collection of Old-Time Duets” by Ann & Phil Case

Ann & Phil Case
The Old Step-Stone: A Collection of Old-Time Duets
Dry Run Recordings
4 stars (out of 5)

The Old Step-Stone is the fourth full-length recorded example why Southwest Ohio’s Ann & Phil Case are one of the very best old-time duos working today.

Ann plays a 1929 Martin 0-21 guitar and a handmade 1903 Audinot copy fiddle; Phil plays everything else: a Wildwood 5-string open-back banjo (1993), a 1921 Gibson F4 mandolin, guitar, harmonica, alto and tenor saxophones and bass.

On instrumentals like the sprightly “Shoo! Fly”, the play-party tune “Go In and Out the Window” and the sublime, gentle “Crystal Stream Waltz,” Ann & Phil put those instruments to expert use.

But it’s the vocals and vocal harmonies that make “The Old Step-Stone a true delight, with the title song serving as the cornerstone of the album and one of about a half-dozen heart songs that, with Ann’s tender lead vocals and Phil’s plaintive harmonies, recall the parlors and drawing rooms of old as much as the back porches and barn dances.

“Rainbow ‘Mid Life’s Willows” is a stunning a cappella; “The Baltimore Fire” is, pardon the pun, a real barn-burner.

The 14-track disc closes  on a gorgeous note with the lushly arranged “Let the Rest of the World Go By,” whose wistful lyrics float along on a bed of saxophones, a fiddle, a cornet and a Hawaiian Dobro.

by Aaron Keith Harris

“Follow Me” by Bearfoot

Bearfoot
Follow Me
Glacier Records
4 stars (out of 5)

When Back Home was released five years ago, this Alaskan quintet was known as Bearfoot Bluegrass, precocious youngsters performing bluegrass at band camps and festivals.

While youthful, the group has maintained a consistent lineup while spreading across the continent in pursuit of higher education and life experience. Follow Me is their third recording and reveals a confidence and maturity that was not previously in evidence. Freed of the constraints of being perceived as teenage prodigies, Bearfoot has continued the journey toward becoming truly professional musicians.

Today’s Bearfoot has firmly embraced the new acoustic approach previously explored by Nickel Creek and, more recently, by Crooked Still. Bluegrass is present only in the very broadest of definitions.

Bearfoot is Annalisa Tornfelt (guitar and fiddle), Kate Hamre (acoustic bass), Angela Oudean (fiddle), Jason Norris (mandolin), and Mike Mickelson (guitar.) All five sing with the ladies’ voices more prominent than the men’s.

Annalisa has a voice for the ages, and hers is that which Bearfoot relies upon to bring a signature to their sound. Her voice may be described as sultry, but it is more than what that term implies. Like John Reischman & the Jaybirds’ Trisha Gagnon, Annalisa possesses that extra special something — an easy, soulful breathlessness, perhaps — that separates her from others.

Mike’s take of the jam favorite “Deep River Blues” is bluesy and swinging, a description that also applies to several other tunes on the album including the openers “Molasses” and “Go on Home.” Kate sings the lead on the old-timey “The Blackest Crow” and Becky Buller’s “Little Bird” is another highlight.

As time passes, people change and so does the music they want to play. Don’t hold it against Bearfoot that they are no longer the sweet teens who captured imaginations playing bluegrass.

Instead, welcome the mature and fully realized version of the band that has produced an album that should become a favorite.

by Donald Teplyske

“Vagabonds” by Gary Louris

Gary Louris
Vagabonds
Rykodisc
3.5 stars (out of 5)

Apparently, 20 years with the Jayhawks affords one ample cause for serious self-examination. On his solo debut, guitarist Gary Louris soul searches on ten abstractions connected by evocative imagery and producer Chris Robinson’s well-orchestrated arrangements.

Vagabonds begins with Louris finding spiritual rebirth in “True Blue” and freedom in “Omaha Nights.” “To Die a Happy Man” ultimately erupts into a revival with the Laurel Canyon Family Choir, which is comprised of Robinson, Susanna Hoffs, Jenny Lewis, Jonathan Rice, the Chapin Sisters, Andy Cabic, Jonathan Wilson, and Farmer Dave. Midway through the disc, that bunch and Louris latch on to the mantra “We’ll get by, but we don’t know how.”

Not satisfied with that, however, Louris continues to pose questions against ethereal pop backdrops in the Lennon-esque “Black Grass,” the unsettling “I Wanna Get High,” and the pedal steel infused “D.C. Blues.” Perhaps his most plausible revelations surface in the latter, with its opening “It almost seems laughable/It shouldn’t be this hard” and chorus “Hand me down my walking cane/Hand me down my shoes/It’s my game to win/It’s my game to lose.”

It is his game, and it will entertain those who spectate and challenge those who play along. Just don’t be disappointed if, after 43 minutes of music have elapsed, the only thing you’ve figured out is that he hasn’t figured out anything either. That said, Gary Louris certainly has come up with a compelling work of art nonetheless.

by Tim Walsh

“10 Years of European World of Bluegrass” by Various Artists

Various Artists
10 Years of European World of Bluegrass
Strictly Country Records
4.5 stars (out of 5)

So, the high cost of gas is putting the brakes on your festival-going plans for the summer? Never fear: Producer Liz Meyer and the fine folks at the European World of Bluegrass have put together the festival to end all festivals on an outstanding two-disc set. They’ve culled the best of the best from 10 years of festival shows to bring us 48 bands from 15 countries, including the United States. Here are some of the highlights:

The four-piece band, Footprints, and their seamless fusion of hardcore high-lonesome with vocals in their native Slovenian.

Transcendent a cappella gospel from the Czech Republic’s Relief and Italy’s Mideando String Quartet, whose bass vocalist – the liner notes offer no clue as to who sings what part — is one for the ages.

Raymond McLain (banjo) and Mike Stevens (harmonica) raising a ruckus on a lightning fast dash through “Train 45.” Likewise, the Hunger Mountain Boys on “Feast Here Tonight” and the Czech trio, Jiri Kralik & the Rowdy Rascals, with a version of “Ida Red” that would make the New Lost City Ramblers proud.

Sublime pre-bluegrass sounds from the Dutch band, Skyland, on Doc and Rosa Lee Watson’s “Your Long Journey,” and Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, on the broadside ballad “Wood Thrush Song.”

Outstanding performances from American favorites, Bill Clifton & Pick of the Crop (“Little Whitewashed Chimney”), Randy Waller & the Country Gentlemen (“Southbound Train”), and Dan Paisley and the Southern Grass (“When My Time Comes to Go”).

The innovative gospel sounds of France’s Springfield, who combine driving, Watson-style, guitar with black gospel-style vocals on “Paul and Silas.” This is a band to watch.

The crisp, driving style of yet another band to watch. Jussi Syren & the Groundbreakers come from Finland, but their “Life of a Steel Driving Man” is pure Appalachia. Syren’s rough-and-ready lead vocal and his songwriting chops will thrill traditionalists.

Sublime contemporary grass from both sides of the Atlantic. The members of the Czech band, Goodwill, all play with exquisite tone and musicianship, but Martin Vitasek’s whiskey-rich guitar and lead vocals make this another band to watch. Also in that category, The New England Bluegrass Band grasses up the Everly Brothers classic, “Brand New Heartache” with yearning trio harmonies.

Those are just a few of the brilliant performances in this set. There are many more tracks worth repeated listening, and many more bands worth seeking out. “10 Years of European World of Bluegrass” is a collection of remarkable diversity and depth.

by Maria Morgan Davis

“Still Crooked” by Crooked Still

Crooked Still
Still Crooked
Signature Sounds
4.5 stars (out of 5)

From the opening seconds of Ola Belle Reed’s timeless “Undone in Sorrow,” listeners sense they are in for a treat with Crooked Still’s third album. The promise is fulfilled in each of the album’s 44 minutes.

Crooked Still’s story is well known. As part of the emerging young string band movement, the four-piece band gained almost universal acclaim for their sophomore album Shaken By A Low Sound in 2006. Crooked Still identifies itself from similar bands through incorporation of the cello into what many continue to mistakenly identify as a bluegrass band. Additionally, by minimizing the use of guitar, the band further steps away from standard string band structures. Cellist Rushad Eggleston left the band late last year, and followers wondered what impact his absence would have on Crooked Still’s new disc.

Still Crooked is a stronger and more cohesive album than their last outing, and miles from where the band started with Hop High. Notably, the band has become adept at identifying and executing less familiar material. Gone are the “Darling Coreys,” “Rank Strangers,” and “Wind and Rains” of previous albums. While enjoyable, the songs on the previous albums frequently appeared too obvious.

Instead, on this Eric Merrill produced disc, the band — now fleshed out to a five-piece with the addition of cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Britany Haas — appears to have delved deeper into the folk traditions to find songs like “The Absentee,” “Florence, and “Captain, Captain” as well as a couple originals.

Given the song title’s prominence within the gatefold sleeve, “Undone in Sorrow” appears to have particular significance to the New England-based quintet. One might be tempted to read too much into the song’s closing lyric, “And I’ll not end a man in riches, undone is sorrow I’ll remain” and believe the band is symbolically pining for the departed Eggleston. If they are, there is little evidence amongst the thirteen stellar performances, and one suspects the image of falling into never-ending melancholy over a departed love is more romantic than realistic. Still, Crooked Still’s treatment of the song is faithful to Reed’s seldom encountered mountain rendition if not its rustic foundation, bringing sophistication to the sparse melody that Reed may never have imagined.

As is perhaps intended, the album has the feel of a hymnal about it. “The Absentee,” “Pharaoh,” “Wading Deep Waters,” and “Florence” all have at their core messages of seeking, deliverance, and faith.

Elsewhere, other facets of life are covered with “Poor Ellen Smith” (the only song that is arguably too frequently recorded) laying cold on the ground and John Hurt being told off by his two-timing honey in “Baby, What’s Wrong With You?,” the closest Crooked Still comes to a pop song. Vocalist Aoife O’Donovan’s “Low Down and Dirty” has a creepy, effective Vicki Lawrence thing going, with a tormented woman killing her lover in a graveyard. And despite the presence of a lyric sheet, I’m still not sure what’s going on in Nathan Taylor’s “Did You Sleep Well?” I suspect it isn’t innocent.

The song structures are challenging, making repeated listening experiences fresh. “Oh Agamemnon” opens with almost a minute of instrumentation before unfolding in a pair of multi-verse bursts punctuated by extended violin rich interludes. “Pharaohs” fades and returns, and refrains are fleshed out and breathe, as on “Wading Deep Waters.”

O’Donovan’s voice, much like Bearfoot’s Annalisa Tornfelt’s, has that mysterious quality too frequently referenced as ethereal; it grabs the listener and holds on, leaving one sated but desiring more when the disc ends. Greg Liszt, most famous for being Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions banjoist, is an understated, deep 5-string artist. He manages to convey emotion in solitary string bends, complementing Clarridge’s lonesome cello, and providing songs with unusual atmosphere. Only on “Poor Ellen Smith” does Liszt cut loose a little, at least as much as is allowed within the restrained format favored by Crooked Still.

How did bluegrass became associated with the band? I suppose it was because of the presence of banjo and fiddle in an acoustic setting. The roots of Crooked Still’s go deeper than 1946 to the string bands popular early in the last century, yet their sound is completely unique, sharing only the vaguest commonalities with Old Crow Medicine Show, Uncle Earl, and that ilk. And, unlike bluegrass where- despite the occasional female coming to the fore to lead things- the game is largely dominated by males, in the new string band world inhabited by Crooked Still, the gals tend to stand on an equal footing with the boys.

Still Crooked is an album I’ve been listening to for two months, and it has seldom stayed out of the player for more than a few days. Each listening reveals depths to Crooked Still not previously noticed. Beautiful stuff, this.

by Donald Teplyske