Nick Chandler & Delivered, from western North Carolina, have recorded a fine new album of traditional bluegrass titled “Look for Me”. The ten-song list mixes tunes new to today’s bluegrass with classics. The information provided with the album says the band likes to channel 1980s bluegrass.
Nick plays mandolin and sings lead and harmony (and he wears the hat). Gary Trivette plays bass fiddle and sings lead and harmony. Spencer Atkinson appears to be the youngest member of the group, playing guitar and singing tenor according to the liner notes. Jake Burrows plays fine traditional style “hard driving” banjo and sings harmony.
The album is titled after the old Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver cut “Look for Me and I’ll Be There”, a fine bouncy number with good trio singing, plus uncredited Dobro back-up. Banjo, guitar and mandolin neatly “split” the breaks. This is perhaps the best-executed of the previously recorded “classic” cuts. “Old Devil’s Dream”, from the Nashville Bluegrass Band, suffers a bit in comparison to the original which has earned “towering” status for its powerful duet singing. Nick and Delivered sound a bit pale in comparison. But the song is well-done.
“Hazel Creek” was written by the late Tom T. and Dixie Hall. The band delivers a brisk old-time bluegrass performance. “Why I Love You” comes from Lowell Varney who used to supply tunes to Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks. Again Nick and the boys show off their bouncy sound and excellent trio singing. Nick’s mandolin playing is particularly crisp, seeming to mix a bit of Monroe style and Doyle Lawson.
“Blue Ridge Mountains Turning Green” comes from (I think) a traditional bluegrasser from way back yonder, Jim Lunsford – perhaps the one who fiddled with Reno & Smiley (or maybe his grandson). This is a very nice slow song with fine trio choruses. The earliest recording I find of it was by Charlie Pride! With a lush orchestra and a 5 string banjo. A bluegrass version was cut by Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen, too.
“Swept” was written by band member Gary Trivette and it’s good, new, uptempo bluegrass picking and singing. “Don’t Cry For Me” is something of a bold choice – a slow instrumental, in a low key. Written by banjoist Jake Burrows. This is a good time to mention the crispy clarity of the recording of the instruments. They sound absolutely brilliant, even listening on my cell phone.
A strong quartet sings the great Dottie Rambo’s “Follow the Leader” in a sprightly manner. This used to be a favorite of Buck White and the Down Home Folks (known later as “The Whites”). The Dottie Rambo repertoire deserves more attention from bluegrass gospel.
Nick wrote “Maria” with a mild and pretty Mexican/Spanish feeling in the lyrics and picking, or at least as far as you can suggest those sounds in bluegrass. The album closes with “Never Did No Wanderin’” with real drive from the instruments pushing hard in a minor key. Guess who wrote it? Two members of Spinal Tap! Harry Shearer and Michael McKean! Clever choice for a bluegrass band!
Nick Chandler & Delivered are among the solid traditionalists in today’s bluegrass world. That doesn’t mean they do warhorses, far from it. They find good old songs that deserve to be dusted off and presented anew, and they write their own songs too. They benefit by having lead guitar as a third solo instrument in lieu of fiddle. This is the kind of bluegrass album that keeps me hopeful for a bright future for traditional bluegrass.
We can hope Nick Chandler & Delivered will tour the northeast someday.
“Look For Me and I’ll Be There”
“Hazel Creek”
“Blue Ridge Mountains Turning Green”
“Don’t Cry For Me”
“Follow The Leader”
“Never Did No Wanderin'”
