Perfect Strangers

Perfect Strangers

(REB-CD-1793) 53:52

Perfect Strangers, a new bluegrass collective, brings together musical veterans whose albums- whether singularly or with other bands and performers- should be part of any bluegrass and acoustic music fan's collection. Initially assembled to record Chris Brashear's Wanderlust album, Perfect Strangers are now a bona fide band of considerable energy and magnitude.

Bob Black (banjo) is a former Blue Grass Boy and has recorded with Cagley, Black, Schaefer, & Njoes and Greg Brown. Chris Brashear (guitar/fiddle) is a respected songwriter who has worked with numerous individuals including Laurie Lewis. Peter McLaughlin (guitar) has also worked with Lewis and is a renowned flatpicker. Forrest Rose (bass) is likely best known for his work with David Olney. The group's mandolinist, Jody Stecher, requires no introduction as he has been making wonderful music on a variety of stringed instruments for many years alongside the likes of Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, and longtime partner Kate Brislin. While everyone takes a turn singing, Stecher, Brashear, and McLaughlin carry the lion's share of the vocal responsibilities.

There is not a superfluous moment on this hour-long disc. It contains some of the best contemporary traditional bluegrass music one is likely to hear. From the plaintive cry of "Sing Me A Song (That'll Just Keep Me Lonesome)," to a Monroe-esque "Roll On, John," through Kenny Baker's "Bluegrass In The Backwoods," Perfect Strangers have exceeded all expectations on this debut release.

The vocals and instruments are blended with precision, with a delineation of sound that is aurally pleasing. Brashear and Stecher harmonize on "Scofield Mine Disaster" in a truly mournful manner. On "The Hermit Miner," a McLaughlin original, the songwriter and Brashear create a resoundingly full guitar sound while their vocals tell the tale of a recluse whose companions are limited to a fiddle, tools, and a mule team.

One shouldn't get the impression that the album is dominated by maudlin themes. Black's "Canned By The Best" is not only humorous testimony of bandleader whims, but serves as a commentary on the cyclical nature of most business endeavours.

The cover depicts five faceless musicians. The dexterity with which they play and the passion communicated by this quintet is revealed with every note throughout the 14 numbers Perfect Strangers have chosen to share. They are sure to be increasingly familiar face. www.rebelrecords.com

Various Artists

American Gothic: Bluegrass Songs of Death and Sorrow

(CMH Records CD-8421) 78:17

The title alone is enough to draw intrigue; while balanced by the spiritual and reverent, this album brings the darker side of life to song.

Mined from the CMH Records catalogue, this compilation continues the revitalization of a company pained by a reputation for less than stellar collections; unlike many of their earlier volumes, American Gothic remains focused to the title, collecting mostly bluegrass sounding renditions of some of the best known murder ballads and other songs of passing. The recording dates span from the 70s to last year (save one 1969 Bill Monroe track.)

The strongest tracks- multiple songs from the Osborne Brothers, Carl Story, and Mac Wiseman- are most likely to be appreciated by those who gravitate toward the most traditional bluegrass harmonies and instrumentation, excusing the Osbornes inclusion of drums on their recordings.

They are all here- "The Wexford Girl," "O Death," The Ballad of the Lawson Family," "Darlin' Corey," and "The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake." Of particular note is Mac Wiseman's treatment of "Poor Ellen Smith" from a 1990 session featuring the Adcocks, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves, Jesse McReynolds, and Missy Raines; what a bluegrass supergroup!

Less violent and more comforting are numbers such as "He Will Open The Gate," performed a cappella style by the Bass Mountain Boys, "I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling," "Angel Band," and several other similarly themed songs.

As a "death and sorrow" collection, American Gothic has much to recommend it. While other versions of these songs are likely more historically relevant, this disc makes an enjoyable 80 minute listen.

Various Artists

This Is Americana Volume One: A View from Sugar Hill Records

(Sugar Hill SUG-CD-3961) 55:54

An initiative of the Americana Music Association, this is the first in (hopefully) a series of releases by various independent record labels to highlight and define the genre 'Americana.'

Featuring cuts from 16 recent Sugar Hill releases, this volume cuts a wide swath through the fields identified as singer-songwriter, folk, alt.country, and bluegrass. While only a handful of tunes are straight ahead bluegrass, a surprising number of the featured artists have 'grass roots.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver ("Poor Boy Working Blues"), Baucom, Bibey, & Blueridge ("It's All My Fault") and Hot Rize ("Colleen Malone") are the artists most representative of the bluegrass style of music while songs by John Cowan ("Two Quarts Low"), Sean Watkins ("Let It Fall") and Dudley Connell & Don Rigsby ("Another Saturday Night") wiggle their fingers in a similar direction.

Irrepressibly, The Gourds open the album with their stew of steamy, Austin-country while Scott Miller, Rodney Crowell, Railroad Earth, and James McMurtry, among others, round out this well intended representation of the best of Sugar Hill's Americana.

Among the many appealing aspects of this collection is the 'giftability' it possesses. Most listeners of the Americana music have more than a few friends who are stuck in the lite-rock wasteland now called Country music; purchasing this compilation for friends is sure to bring them into the fold. However, this album is equally sure to satisfy those already entrenched in the world of roots music. www.sugarhillrecords.com

Various Artists

Fresh Faces at Merle Fest 2003

(no number) 67:27

Despite a slightly misleading title (after all, can Doyle Lawson, Peter Rowan, Lynn Morris, or the Hot Rize guys truly be referred to as 'fresh faces'?) this generous compilation serves as a nice souvenir for those who attended the annual music celebration held at Wilkesboro, NC.

With tracks selected from their most recent projects, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Mountain Heart, Kathy Kallick, Dale Ann Bradley, and several other festival favorites appear on this 21-track disc. While these veterans form the backbone of the anthology, a handful of less familiar performers provide much of the heart.

Sally Jones, shamefully still not a household name, contributes a pair of songs from her terrific Love Hurts album, including a sparkling rendition of "Sipsey."

Pine Mountain Railroad provides highlights from their sophomore release with one hard pressed to pick a favorite between "Hay In The Barn" and "Aunt Birdie's Chevrolet."

Polecat Creek, a young North Carolina band, offers a very fresh blend of bluegrass and folk highlighted by a gentle number, "Never Mind."

Southern Louisiana's Red Stick Ramblers serve a savory gumbo of Dixieland flavored Cajun fusion music that is likely to find favor with adventurous lovers of acoustic music.

With talented songwriters such as Jamie Dailey (DLQ), Jumbo Whaley and Roscoe Morgan (both PMR), and Polecat Creek's Kari Sickenberger represented, Fresh Faces at Merle Fest 2003 helps one to be confident in the future of bluegrass music. www.merlefest.org

Various Artists

The Old Home Place: Bluegrass and Old-Time Mountain Music

(Rounder Records 11661-514) 58:47

With this, the latest in a seemingly never-ending supply of bluegrass compilations, one would not be surprised to become frustrated at seeing collections of songs seemingly released to further the bottom line of the record companies. However, when compiled as thoughtfully and skillfully compiled as this anthology, one tends to temper cynicism and allow the melodious aura of the music to waft away such dark thoughts.

The Old Home Place successfully captures the many facets that Home represents within bluegrass songs, both overly familiar ("The Old Home Place," "Who Will Watch The Home Place") and less oft heard ("To Be Back Home Again," by Spectrum and Connie and Babe's glorious, "Home Is Where The Heart Is.") Reflecting on the significant qualities that made home special, mourning the losses caused by hard times, and anticipating uncertain futures are but three of the perspectives offered in the chosen songs.

Few images are as frequently conjured in bluegrass music as that of Home. Pining for a time long past while remembering the "grapevines over the door," with the clouds of time concealing the less appealing aspects of one's youth, is a familiar theme within bluegrass music, one well represented within this collection. Most numbers evoke images of quaint rural life- simple, wholesome, and loving- an image most realize is a fleeting memory with little basis in reality. Home, whatever its location or representation, for good or bad, is still Home. Bluegrass music has always captured this element; the number chosen to close this volume, Hazel Dickens' "Hills of Home" is likely the most honest of all Home songs and captures this duality.

While the message and timbre of many of the songs are similarly morose, compiler Ken Irwin has elected to accommodate a range of sounds and styles, including deceptively upbeat numbers with maudlin qualities masked by bounce, creating a balanced aural mood. With many of Rounder's big names represented, including Longview, IIIrd Tyme Out, and Dry Branch Fire Squad, The Old Home Place is both a solid bluegrass primer for the uninitiated and a welcome reprise of thematically linked music for bluegrass veterans. If it makes the record company a few dollars, they are well deserved. www.rounder.com