Paul Williams and The Victory Trio: Just A Little Closer Home
Written by Jack Dwyer
If you know the music of Paul Williams, you will know exactly what to expect from any Rebel release featuring Paul Williams and The Victory Trio. Indeed, Just A Little Closer Home delivers much more than just a few moments of bluegrass gospel bliss. Even if the name Paul Williams is unfamiliar, bluegrass listeners will already be well acquainted with Mr. Williams through his extensive work with Jimmy Martin. Williams performed and recorded with Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys from 1958 to 1962 and appears on many of his most well known recordings, in particular Martin’s earlier gospel recording.
Heartaches and Dreams: Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice
Written by Dave Angell
"Who is Junior Sisk?" I asked Bob Milliken, as he told me the song he just sang was by Sisk. To me, Bob comes up with the best selection of songs I've ever heard played at a bluegrass jam, and this one was great. Bob replied, "Junior has a band called Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice." So I did a little homework and found that Junior has been very successful in bluegrass as a songwriter and singer. Besides his own band he has played with Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz, Lost and Found, and Blue Ridge. Junior is from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, as are all but one of the musicians in the current configuration of Ramblers Choice. The sound this band embodies harkens back to the sound of the Stanley Brothers, and captured today by The James King Band. Juniors voice is central to the sound of his band. It is intense, full, and strong, and carries the signature sound of the Virginia hills.
Review of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Get Low
Written by Iain Birchwood
Does anyone buy CDs these days? An informal survey of people I know yielded the somewhat predictable conclusion that most of us prefer to download individual songs and ‘cherry-pick’ albums for our favorite tracks. So, unless you are a die-hard fan of the movie Get Low or have unusually eclectic tastes in music, that is what you’ll want to do with this soundtrack album featuring various artists and released on the Rounder label.
The Chapmans: Grown Up The John Hartford Stringband: Memories Of John
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I'm not much of a guitar player, but over the past twenty years I've owned guitars by two of the biggest and most famous acoustic guitar companies in North America- Martin and Taylor. Although I currently own a Martin, I'll confess on this bluegrass blog that I love Taylors: the sound just jumps out of them, bright and loud. A few years ago I took a tour of the Taylor factory near San Diego: it was a marvel of high-tech luthiery, involving computers. lasers, robots, and a secret guitar development lab that only a few people, including Mr. Taylor himself, were allowed to enter. (I suspect that this latter detail was a bit of dramatization for the tour, but it sounds hip and mysterious. The lasers, computers and robots are all quite real, I saw them in action.)
I love this album, which celebrates Special Consensus’ thirty-five years through multiple personnel incarnations. The first six cuts feature the current lineup of Greg Cahill, banjo; Ryan Roberts, guitar; David Thomas, bass; Rick Faris, mandolin. Those of you lucky enough to have attended the group’s performance at Sugar & Spice Café a few weeks ago will recognize the tunes, from “Dusk ‘Til Dawn” (which has been getting significant airplay on XM Radio lately) to the haunting a capella hymn, “Land Up In The Air.”
If you know the music of Paul Williams, you will know exactly what to expect from any Rebel release featuring Paul Williams and The Victory Trio. Indeed, Just A Little Closer Home delivers much more than just a few moments of bluegrass gospel bliss. Even if the name Paul Williams is unfamiliar, bluegrass listeners will already be well acquainted with Mr. Williams through his extensive work with Jimmy Martin. Williams performed and recorded with Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys from 1958 to 1962 and appears on many of his most well known recordings, in particular Martin’s earlier gospel recording.
"Who is Junior Sisk?" I asked Bob Milliken, as he told me the song he just sang was by Sisk. To me, Bob comes up with the best selection of songs I've ever heard played at a bluegrass jam, and this one was great. Bob replied, "Junior has a band called Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice." So I did a little homework and found that Junior has been very successful in bluegrass as a songwriter and singer. Besides his own band he has played with Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz, Lost and Found, and Blue Ridge. Junior is from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, as are all but one of the musicians in the current configuration of Ramblers Choice. The sound this band embodies harkens back to the sound of the Stanley Brothers, and captured today by The James King Band. Juniors voice is central to the sound of his band. It is intense, full, and strong, and carries the signature sound of the Virginia hills.
