Marshall Tucker Band - Live! Englishtown, NJ - 9/3/77 - A review

It was a perfect day for a concert, and what a venue, right beside the Englishtown, NJ, race track. It was a hot late summers' afternoon. My friends and I pulled into the outskirts of Englishtown, and decided to park a good walk away, because we asked and heard that the small town was full of cars, and people were paying to park on peoples' front yards.

  So, we walked about thirty - forty five minutes to Raceway park, right beside where the concert was going to be. It was a huge area surrounded by eighteen wheeler trailers for a fence, and the huge stage which took up a large area in the front at the bottom a very large slowly descending hill. Besides the speakers on the stage, there were several large stacks of speakers scattered across the side of the hill for the people who were further back like myself. People were lying on blankets or standing around talking, My friends and I had missed the "New Riders Of The Purple Sage", a country rock group who had opened up the show. All of a sudden, there arose a large commotion, and The Marshall Tucker Band came out around Three in the afternoon, and started their set. We could not see or hear the group at first, You could barely hear the music where we were hanging out and there were several people behind us, There was an estimated one hundred and fifty thousand people there. It was a very mellow crowd, people enjoying what they knew was a very special moment that afternoon. It took awhile for the sound to get loud enough for the whole crowd to hear the MTB.

  Finally the sound got straightened out and the band sounded great as they played several of their popular songs from that era, both the Grateful Dead who Marshall Tucker was opening for and Marshall Tucker were playing in the peak of their careers , so it was quite an experience. The CD is a copy of a soundboard tape for the MTB, so the sound quality is not that good. The volume of the recording was the same volume thruout the show, and the quality of the recording improves as the show goes on. The set ends with a rousing "24 Hours At a Time" and The Encore is "Can't You See"(a killer version) This is definitely a must have if you were at the historic show. Marshall Tucker did not release a lot of Live material.

          www.marshalltucker.com

Charlie Daniels - Live At Keswick Theatre - A Review

 The Charlie Daniels Band pulled into Glenside and were loaded for bear. I have not seen Charlie since 1981 at the Mann Music Center. There was a local band that opened up for them, The crowd were not really  getting into them, I had never heard of them, but the crowd were there to see the CDB.

  People that had a meet and greet with Charlie did that during the first act's

set. Charlie did his meet and greets in his bus which was neat. Mr. Daniels has always been an outspoken man about his beliefs in Christianity, and his political ideas.  In my short time with him, I was really impressed with him, He is a very kind and sincere man.

   By the time everyone got back inside, The opening act was finished and they were setting up for the CDB which did not take long, and they had brought more than the average rock group to the Keswick, which has it's own PA system. They added a stack of speakers which went almost to the ceiling of the Theatre. They started out loud, I really did not expect him to still be playing full volume at his age, but the band was on full tilt rock, it took a couple of songs to get the sound dialed in. After the sound was right, the band really sounded good. They did the "Wooley Swamp", it sounded just like the record, Charlie's voice sounds just as strong and clear as it did thirty five years ago. His guitar playing sounded better, if anything than before.

  I was unfamiliar with a lot of his new material, as I was really into him in the seventies. He did sing "Long Haired Country Boy", which got the place jumping. He brought the house down with a magnificent version of "How Great Thou Art", starting out with just himself and an acoustic guitar, bringing in the whole band by the end. It was just so beautiful and done so full of meaning, and reverently. The CDB sounds just as good or better than ever.

                                   www.charliedaniels.com   

"Pull Your Savior In" - The Larry Stephenson Band - a review

Well, first off, this band is celebrating their 25th anniversary with this bluegrass/gospel CD. This recording majors on their vocals. Larry Stephenson sings lead, harmony and plays mandolin. Colby Laney sings lead and harmony vocals and plays guitar. Kenny Ingram sings  harmony vocals, plays banjo and some lead guitar on one song. Danny Stewart sings bass vocal on a song and plays acoustic bass.

   Jimmy Fortune, guest artist sings tenor vocal on a song. Aubrey Haynie plays fiddle. David Parmley and Dale Perry sing harmony vocals. Kristen Scott Benson played her first stint on banjo with this group at age 19. She played another stint with them a few years later. This album was produced by Ben Surrat and Larry Stephenson. 

   This is a very well produced CD. The first song is an accapello version of "Amazing Grace."  This is a song that everyone likes, but for some reason, it just does not move me. However, the next two songs "Pull Your Saviour In" and "Come To Jesus Moment" are two sensational gospel songs. I mean, the lyrics, the singing are all great. They kind of just stick with you. There is a good version of the "Great Speckled Bird". Other traditional songs done well are "How Great Thou Are" and "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning". Overall, it is a refreshing gospel album, that does a great balance of gospel and bluegrass. They sound like they are a really good bluegrass group.  This album comes out this week on Oct. 21. You can get a copy at their website or at Amazon.

                                       www.larrystephensonband.com

"The View" - The Roys - A Review

 On Sept. 2,2014, The Roys released their new bluegrass CD, "The View". The beautiful cover art of this CD will definitely catch your eye showing Lee and his sister Elaine on the porch of a beautiful cabin, tree covered view behind them.

  They have been making successful bluegrass CDs since 2011, starting with "Lonesome Whistle". They have a faithful following of fans to their melodic style of bluegrass with Christian songs mixed in.

  On this CD ,they did some things differently, Lee did all of the recording himself and they used the instruments played by their own band members, instead of studio musicians.  Also, every song is written by them, sometimes with the help of others. It came out real well, the playing of his own road band is surprisingly good, as Lee is a well talented mandolin player.

  There are a total of eleven tracks and the final track is with the help of Doyle Lawson about Bill Monroe, called "The Mandolin Man".

  Daniel Patrick on banjo and dobro is surprisingly good. On "Northern Skies",an instrumental, Lee plays some exciting mandolin parts, which have an original sound. He gets some beautiful tone out out of his mandolins. Clint White plays very good fiddle. Erik Alvar does a very good job with his bass parts.

  The CD has a good variety of mellow, original bluegrass songs. My favorites are "Sometimes", "Live The Life You Love", an upbeat song, Really like "The View", a real nice slow ballad by Elaine. It is slow and wistful. A really nice ballad featuring Elaine. "No More Tears Left To Cry" is a really well crafted song with some great dobro by Daniel.

   Overall, The View is one of the best CDs, put out by the Roys.

                      www.theroysonline.com

"Flatt Lonesome Too" - Flatt Lonesome -A Review

 Flatt Lonesome had a great debut CD. It is very hard to come out with a good follow up to a great CD like theirs In fact, the second CD is always a hard item for a group to put out.

  Well, Too does not disappoint, they sound even tighter with all new material. Their Dobro player Mike really sounds great, coming out with some real melodious playing. Both Buddy's vocals and guitar playing have improved. This group plays with real great dynamics, not going full tilt all of the time, but doing some real nice playing with their instruments. Buddy has a couple of real nice guitar solos on this CD. Kelsi and Charli's vocals sound even better than before. I really like their harmony's on "I Can't Be Bothered Any More". Kelsi sounds great on the slow ballad "Make It Through The Day".

  "He Still Hears" is a very good gospel song that is full of emotion. Their harmonies are so moving and intricate. Another great gospel song with great instrumental breaks is "I'm Ready Now". Mike tears it up on the Dobro and Buddy plays a hot guitar break. A song with a very catchy melody and great vocals is "I Thought You Were Someone I Knew", an upbeat heart break bluegrass ballad.

  There is like a wow factor to this CD, really have not figured it out yet, whether it is the production or that sibling thing with Buddy, Kelsi and Charli. Maybe it is the excellent playing on the instruments. These are not studio musicians, these are the same young folk in the group, no one else. By the way ,you can really hear the Bass well on this CD and Dominic really plays some solid bass for the foundation. A lot of bluegrass groups add drums and percussion to their CDs. You don't need that, maybe that is why this is so special. This year it really looks like they are building some great momentum and a larger fan base on the long festival trek. That is hard work, These Bluegrass musicians are hard workers, plus it is hot out there in the afternoon when they do their first set. I can't see why this CD would not win some kind of IBMA award or even a grammy, it is excellent. Plus, these are all new songs, no cover songs, just new and original material. Paul Harrigill wrote two songs and helped out with another song. Sorry, I forgot to mention his excellent banjo pickin, He can play. Kelsi wrote a song and helped out with another one. Twelve very good songs, no filler material. I never skip anything, just put it on and play it through, love to listen to it in my car. 

  These young folk put out a great example, They are professing Christians as are a lot of Bluegrass musicians. They dress very well at their shows, I wish them all the best. Last, but not least, the artwork and pictures on the on the CD Cover are done very well. Hope, that I get to see them someday, I live just a little too far off of the circuit. The only place around here that showcases Bluegrass is Sellersville Theatre where I have seen Mountain Heart, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and The Grascals, all shows that I loved. I will say, don't miss Ricky Skaggs, He has an awesome band, and still puts on a super show. He packed out the place twice in one day. You can preorder the CD off of their website, at their label or on Amazon.

                               www.flattlonesome.com    www.crossroadsmusic.com      

"Off The Grid - Doin' It Dylan" - Charlie Daniels Band - A Review

Well, this is different for the Charlie Daniels Band. Some of the
first sessions work on the guitar, that Daniels did when he moved to
Nashville was for Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" album. Charlie was
just supposed to fill in for a day for a guitarist who did not show
up. Dylan wanted Charlie to keep playing, not the guy who didn't show
up. In fact ,Charlie kept playing for him on Dylan's next two albums
done in Nashville. Daniels said that Dylan and him got along and he
was easy to work with. So Charlie thought that He would do a tribute
album for Dylan.

  The sound is refreshing ,acoustic ,bouncy , Daniels vocals sound as
good as ever. For me, I really had always been a fan of Dylan's songs,
but not his versions. Charlie's vocals were mixed loud enough that it
was easy to hear the words and appreciate the meaning of the songs,
Charlie really enunciated the versing well, it showed that He truly
loved the songs, and I really understood the meaning of the songs, for
the first time, plus you can really hear joy in Daniel's singing. The
band is like a folk, bluegrass band, with drums, harmonica, some
mandolin and sweet Dobro. I'm sure that Daniels still misses Taz, the
last member of his original band, who passed away not too long ago.
There is a lot of piano in the mix, in fact , it is one of the
dominant instruments. It is an interesting mix of Dylan songs, Some
upbeat, some serious, a couple sad, really something for everyone to
relate to.

    He starts up with a real upbeat version of "Tangled Up in Blue",
He puts a real interesting fiddle riff in the song to keep it moving.
He does upbeat versions, but serious versions of "Hard Rain Going to
Fall" and "The Times They Are a Changing".

     Daniels said that he learned a lot from playing on Dylan's
recordings that later he learned some things about leading his own
band. Dylan was all about a sense of freedom and letting a musician
play what he wanted to play ,rather than tell him every phrase. Other
songs on the CD are "You are Going to have to serve Somebody", "Just
Like a Woman", and the Manfred Mann Hit,
 "The Mighty Quinn", and I think my favorite is his version of "I
Shall be Released".  Charlie Daniels has become a man who is a hard
worker and a large believer in America and Christianity. And He is not
afraid to say what is on his mind. I honestly was impressed about how
tight his band is on the whole album, and for me, I'll put it on if I
need something to put me in a good mood. See what you think, if this
something you might like.
                        www.charliedaniels.com

"GOING OFF GRID - DOIN' IT DYLAN" - The Charlie Daniels Band - a Review