Posted in Americana, Folk, Katy Leonard, Rock, Singer-songwriter on July 23, 2008 | No Comments »
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, [...]
Posted in 4 and 4.5 Star Albums, Americana, Country, Katy Leonard, Old-time on June 5, 2008 | No Comments »
Red Stick Ramblers
Made in the Shade
Sugar Hill Records
4 stars (out of 5)
The Red Stick Ramblers’ Made in the Shade provides a diverse mix of
musical styles and experiences, all inspired by the rich and tasty
musical gumbo of Louisiana. Predominantly filled with Cajun dance
tunes, this album offers something for fans of almost any genre.
The unrushed [...]
Posted in 4 and 4.5 Star Albums, Bluegrass, Gospel, Katy Leonard on November 15, 2007 | No Comments »
Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
Tell Someone
Rebel Records
4 stars (out of 5)
Former Lonesome River Band guitarist Kenny Smith began recording this project directly following the death of his father in a farming accident, and and knowing that makes this Gospel album, which is dedicated to his memory, poignant, relevant and touching. Even with, or [...]
Posted in 4 and 4.5 Star Albums, Bluegrass, Katy Leonard on November 6, 2007 | No Comments »
Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-press
Bluegrass Melodies
Rounder Records
4 Stars (out of 5)
Bobby Osborne and pals have created a fun, great-sounding album with his newest offering Bluegrass Melodies. While Glen Duncan guests on fiddle, the rest of the musicians on the album are the current lineup of the Rocky Top X-Press: Bobby Osborne Jr. on [...]
Posted in Americana, Concerts, Katy Leonard, Rock on September 3, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Levon Helm’s Ramble On The Road!
The Levon Helm Band and Ollabelle
with special guests Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Fred Carter Jr., Sheryl Crow, Ricky Skaggs and Lee Roy Parnell.
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN July 18, 2007
I was raised on a diet of classics – Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, [...]
Posted in 4 and 4.5 Star Albums, Bluegrass, Katy Leonard on August 20, 2007 | No Comments »
Chatham County Line
Speed of the Whippoorwill
Yep Roc Records
4 Stars (out of 5)
I am predisposed to like any new offerings from Chatham County Line, as I rank their song “Route 23” among my all-time favorites. Mandolin, fiddle, and viola player John Teer, guitar and banjo player Dave Wilson, bass, pedal steel, and organ player Greg Readling, [...]
Posted in 4 and 4.5 Star Albums, Americana, Bluegrass, Katy Leonard, Old-time on May 18, 2007 | No Comments »
Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings
Generation Nation
Compass Records
4.5 Stars (out of 5)
Last fall while flipping through channels, I came upon a glorious sounding string ensemble that made me drop everything and watch with rapt attention. It turns out this amazing sound came from Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings, and I’d caught the tail end of [...]
Posted in Americana, Katy Leonard, Old-time on March 18, 2007 | No Comments »
Slowdrag
Slow-Fidelity
Corvus Records
3.5 stars (out of 5)
If you take Donna the Buffalo and Old Crow Medicine Show, mix them together, unplug and slow them down, you get Slowdrag.
This Canadian band is made up of Koralee Tonack and Craig McKerron on harmony vocals and guitar, with Paul Bergman on bass, joined on a few tracks by [...]
Posted in 4 and 4.5 Star Albums, Americana, Katy Leonard, Old-time on March 3, 2007 | No Comments »
Bruce Molsky
Soon Be Time
Compass Records
4 stars (out of 5)
Like the memories Molsky alludes to in the liner notes, these songs are wistful and simple. And this album is sparse, but not monotonous, a collection of tunes rooted in Old Time favorites (“Lazy John/The Bucking Mule,” “Cider,” “John Brown’s Dream”) with [...]
Posted in Americana, Bluegrass, Katy Leonard on February 24, 2007 | No Comments »
The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience
DGBX
Acoustic Disc
3 stars (out of 5)
This is the first album from David Grisman’s San Francisco Bay Area ensemble, consisting of Keith Little on banjo, guitar, and vocals, Jim Nunally on guitar and vocals, Chad Manning on fiddle, Samson Grisman on bass, and David Grisman on mandolin and vocals. [...]
