"The Gospel Side Of Dailey And Vincent" - a review

This is one of the most eclectic gospel ,Bluegrass CDs that I have ever heard. There is an incredible amount of talent in each of these songs. The most important feature is the wonderful way Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent sing together.

  The sparse "Family Bible" (W. Nelson) with just guitars in accompaniment is slow paced and beautiful. Bryan Sutton plays guitar, but just chords, no lead.

  On the other hand you have "The 4th Man in the Fire" which is an uptempo piano based gospel song. There is a real low voice in the mix,there are so many guest vocalists including the angelic Sonya Isaacs on this CD.

  "Until at last I'm Home" (Vincent and others) is moderate paced with piano and few instruments, but loads of beautiful harmony.

  "Come Back To Me" (Jimmy Fortune) This is my favorite featuring Sutton on guitar and also Darrin Vincent. A very sweet melody,Sutton's playing is very subtle with lots of sweet resonance.

  This Disc is engineered by Michael Latterell at Trinity Sound and He also mixed it. Excellent job here as this was no easy project to mix. Mastered by Paul Blakemore at CMG Mastering.

   This is Dailey and Vincent's second gospel CD. I did not hear the first one, but this would be hard to top. I think that there is a style here for everyone. Also, this is a CrackerBarrel project, I have yet to review a less than stellar CrackerBarrel CD. This Cd will leave you refreshed!!

  www.daileyandvincent.com
  www.crackerbarrel.com  

"Trailblazer" - The Roys

"Country Side Of Bluegrass" - Janie Fricke - A Review

  Thirty years ago, Janie Fricke would have been a household name in country radio. Now she is singing an excellent bluegrass style produced by Bill Vorndick,popular Nashville bluegrass producer, has produced a lot of Rhonda Vincent CDs. This set is a mix of some of her old hits and some other popular tunes. This mix has a real refreshing sound. Johnny Hiland sounds great playing acoustic guitar, he's a legend of a Nashville picker. His acoustic playing is so fluid, reminds me a bit of Tony Rice. He has some excellent company with David Talbot on banjo, Randy Kohrs on dobro, Andy Leftwich on fiddle, Glen Duncan and Jimmy Mattingly on mandolin and fiddle. Then, we have Chip Davis, Margie Cates and Judy Rodman on background vocals. Mark Fain on bass and Bob Mater on drums keep the bottom line. Interesting, but, back in the day, Hiland was playing on her records.

   The Roys are now touring with Janie. My Favorite song on the disc is "Faithless Love" (J.D. Souther), which is a standard made popular by Linda Ronstadt in the Seventies. The Roys back her up on it on the show. It is a very beautiful version. This is sort of a sad Heartbreak song.

   "He's A Heartache" (J.Silbar/L. Henley) - This was Fricke's third number one hit. It is a real upbeat toe tapper. It has more of Hiland's smooth guitar pickin'. I really like this version.

   "Please Help Me, I'm Falling(In love with you) (Blair/Robertson) - This is an old time country song that Janie did on the opry many times, nice country tune.

    "Down To My Last Broken Heart" (C. Rains) - I like this popular song done in a bluegrass style. Ricky Skaggs sang harmony on the original version. 

    "I'll need Someone to Hold me (When I Cry)" (Holyfield/Mcdill) - is a great song with a great message, the writer ,Bob Mcdill was popular in 1980 when this was released. She has always liked to do this song live.

    "Ring Of Fire" -(June Carter Cash) - This is an iconic country song, Fricke really does it justice, In case you are not familiar with it, it was made popular by Johnny Cash and The Carter Family. Really nice guitar riffs by Hiland, just a splendid version.

      This is definitely a CD to buy, if you are a fan of country and bluegrass, Splendid! Buy it at her site.

www.janiefricke.com

"Justified"- Cumberland River

Song on TV Show, Justified by "Cumberland River", a bit of rockin' bluegrass.

Mark Wayne Glasmire EP - A Review

  I like what this young man has to say in his liner notes. " I still believe that a good song can make a difference in the world ". I believe that, without good music, life would be pretty dreary in this world. How many times have I been influenced and had my outlook changed by a good song, whether it be sad, upbeat or  something that touches me deep inside.

  Glasmire has a very hi quality EP slotted for release on January tenth of this year. The recording has a very hi quality sound with great musicians and produced by the very talented John Albani. The songs are filled with infectious instrumental hooks and Glasmire has a very good ,warm voice.

  I really like the first single "I Like You", which has some traits of a Jimmy Buffet type tune in it. It has been released to the world market on Hotdisc and spent nine weeks as a number 1 song on the Hotdisc chart.

  The emotive ballad "Going Home" was the EP's first video and I just found out it has been upgraded to the GAC and CMT rotation. It is the story of a soldier who was coming home after ten years of duty.

  Mark knows how to write and project a song.Being a consistent songwriter is not easy and I believe it is a gift to those who do it best.  Mark has performed a lot with good artists like Guy Clark and Dierks Bentley, opening for them. He has a flare for a song. Check him out ---

                    www.markwayneglasmire.com