CHRISTMAS AT COUNTY SALES 2002

Part 2

BMG-63971 THE CHIEFTAINS "The Nashville Sessions" Recorded event type albums with all sorts of Bluegrass guests are obviously in vogue now, thanks in large part to the success of O'Brother and the Down From The Mountain tour. Happily this one is quite successful. Leader and producer Paddy Maloney guides this famous 5-member Irish band as it works in varying degrees with a number of outstanding acoustic artists. They have the sense and good judgement to stay well in the background on some cuts, but join the proceedings in full force on others. It's all tastefully done, and those who like a bit of Irish flavor (pipes, fiddle, flute, harp, etc.) should thoroughly enjoy this. There are very nice cuts by Vince Gill (DARK AS A DUNGEON), Ricky Skaggs' band (CINDY), Del McCoury (RAIN AND SNOW) and Earl Scruggs/Glen Duncan (SALLY GOODIN), plus knock out vocals by Martina McBride on I'LL BE ALL SMILES TONIGHT and Gillian Welch/David Rawlings on KATIE DEAR. And Alison Krauss' version of MOLLY BAWN is absolutely stunning - one of her best performances ever, perhaps. The backings are studded with top sidemen such as Randy Kohrs (dobro), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Stuart Duncan, Barry Bales, Tim O'Brien, Bela Fleck and others, making for a very interesting and very satisfying musical treat. Available on CD: $ 15.00

BW-003 REED ISLAND RAMBLERS "Goin' Back" A pleasant second album of old-time playing and singing by this trio based in Hillsville, Va. They present a generous 22 tracks, with Betty Vorn Brock on fiddle and Diane Jones on banjo. (Ms. Jones has also recorded with Hubie King on a good album entitled "There Are No Rules") YEW PINEY MOUNTAIN, SALLY ANN, GEORGE BOOKER, FALLS OF RICHMOND, WAYS OF THE WORLD, CRANBERRY ROCK, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

CC-0210 CAGLEY, BLACK, SCHAEFER & NJOES "Friends in Music" Lovely, Well-played acoustic music here in a 14-track program that features the fine banjoist Bob Black, with Tom Schaefer on fiddle and Bill Cagley on lead and rhythm guitar. The musicians (including Sandy Njoes on bass) are all proficient on this all-instrumental album. Nice work on FIDDLERS DREAM, PIG ANKLE RAG, THREE FORKS OF SANDY, CHINQUAPIN, CHEROKEE SHUFFLE, EAST TENNESSEE BLUES, GREEN WILLIS, FLORIDA BLUES, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

RW-1399 RED WILSON "Mountains, Moonshine and Music" Average old-time fiddling on a program of 20 tunes by this gentleman from Bakersville, NC. He is accompanied on old-time banjo (Bruce Greene) and guitar. RED WING, JESSE JAMES, RED APPLE RAG, FLORIDA BLUES, DRY AND DUSTY, LOST JOHN, GRASSY CREEK, NATURAL BRIDGE BLUES, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

FAYETTE-005 JEFF VOGELGESANG "On The Lam" Vogelgesang, long-time member of a fine regional band from Central Virginia - Alvin Breeden and The Virginia Cutups - has a nicely done instrumental album here, featuring his mandolin picking (he also plays lead guitar well on 4 or 5 of the tunes). Accompaniments vary from one other instrument to full Bluegrass band. WASHINGTON COUNTY, GRAY EAGLE, HORSE AND BUGGY-O, GORHAM MOUNTAIN, CATTLE IN THE CANE MEDLEY, RANDOLPH SNEAD, LITTLE ROCK GETAWAY etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

MERC-170-222 THE STANLEY BROTHERS "The Millenium Collection" Just pop this new CD in your player and you'll be reminded -instantly-of just how great the Stanley Brothers sounded in the mid 1950s, and what made them one of the three or four supergroups of Bluegrass music, We'll let others argue the merits of the Stanleys' Rich-RTone, Columbia, and King sessions (all of which have much to offer), but it's hard to beat their Mercury work for sheer power, soul, and dynamics. For those who don't already have the group's complete Mercury works (2 CD-SET avail. On BCD-15681, $ 36.00), this is a superb package with 12 wonderful cuts like SAY WON'T YOU BE MINE, BABY GIRL, LOVING YOU TOO WELL, ANGEL BAND, VOICE FROM ON HIGH, WILL HE WAIT A LITTLE LONGER, I LONG TO SEE THE OLD FOLKS, OUR LAST GOODBYE, etc. With a few nice photos, too. Available on CD: $ 11.00

LEGEND-1021 BLUE & LONESOME "Another Song" Strong traditional Bluegrass picking with average singing by this 4-piece Kentucky group - they are joined on some cuts by Ronnie Stewart and Gerald Evans. 11 songs: ROSIE BOKAY, SARAH, BLUE TRAIN, BEFORE I MET YOU, SAD WIND SIGHS, A FEW MORE YEARS, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

MC-0602 MONROE CROSSING "Then Sings My Soul" Spirited, well played and sung Bluegrass gospel from a Minnesota 5-piece band. ANGEL BAND, HOW GREAT THOU ART, RIVER OF JORDAN, A CHILD'S PRAYER, I'LL MEET YOU IN CHURCH, PRAYER BELLS OF HEAVEN, WINGS OF AN ANGEL, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

CAP-40177 NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND "Will The Circle Be Unbroken — Vol. 3" Attractively presented, and with tons of talent, this is the third installment of the landmark 3-LP set that came out some 30 years ago. Obviously, it cannot be faulted for not having the impact of the original collection: for one thing, superstar, super-session "event" type projects are becoming pretty much matter-of-fact these days. Alas, it does not have the quality of music, either, though there are some very nice moments. Showing best on the 28-track, 2-CD set are the Del McCoury Band (2 songs), Iris Dement, Doc Watson and Emmylou Harris. There are also nice cuts by Sam Bush (LONESOME RIVER), Vince Gill, and Alison Krauss (CATFISH JOHN). Jimmy Martin's two songs (HOLD WHATCHA GOT and SAVE IT SAVE IT) lack the punch and tightness usually found in Jimmy's performances, and much of the rest is OK but not really inspiring. Still, it's a collection that many will want to have, and it's priced very fairly. Some of the other artists who appear are Dwight Yoakum, Johnny Cash, Taj Mahal, Earl Scruggs, Willie Nelson, etc. TAKE ME IN YOUR LIFEBOAT, I AM A PILGRIM, DARK HOLLER, OH CUMBERLAND, WHEELS, FISHIN' BLUES, TEARS IN THE HOLSTON RIVER, I FIND JESUS, FARTHER ALONG, etc. Available on 2-CD SET: $ 18.00

SKFR-2008 MOUNTAIN HEART "No Other Way" The return of founding member Adam Steffey has added significantly to the impact that this upcoming band achieves on its first project for the Skaggs Family label. Steffey's brilliant mandolin work and his hard-edged vocals give an added boost to what was already a very talented and impressive band. The group now has three very strong singers, as heard here in wonderful performances of MOUNTAIN MAN (Steffey), RAMBLIN' HEART (Steve Gulley) and TEDIOUS AND TASTLESS THE HOURS (Barry Abernathy). Producer Ricky Skaggs has done a superb job in arranging the material and getting top, state of the art sound quality. A top-flight effort that should appeal to both the traditional and contemporary Bluegrass markets. BIG SKY, THE SPIRIT MOVED, LEE HIGHWAY BLUES, FAITHLESS HEART, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

BLADE-4402 THE BLADERUNNERS "Harmony" Solid, competent Bluegrass by this 4-piece California band whose mandolin player has written most of the 15 songs. Gabe Witcher helps on fiddle. CAROLINE CARSON, YOU TOLD ME ONCE, PLEASE BELIEVE ME, SHOW ME THE LIGHT, etc. Available on CD: $ 13.50

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