"Flatt Lonesome" - Flatt Lonesome - A Review

http://youtu.be/rRaAtQLqb_M

     These young folk have formed one of the best sounding traditional bluegrass groups around. If you watch the youtube above, you will get an idea of their talent level plus the love they have for their craft. The vocals  are built around 3 sibling and they harmonize so well together. Plus they play their instruments so well. Siblings Kelsi Robertson Harrigill, Charli Robertson and brother Buddy Robertson handle vocals plus Kelsi plays all mandolin, Charli plays fiddle and Buddy plays guitar and is leader of group. He is an excellent guitarist, playing both lead and rhythm. They play a lot of recognizable cover songs on their debut CD.
      Helping the sibling out on the other instruments is Mike Stockton who plays a very good Dobro, and they have Paul Harrigill on banjo who is quite an accomplished player and on upright bass,they have Dominic Illingworth who does a good job of keeping the beat going well. My favorite song on the CD is the popular country/bluegrass "Jackson", which sounds like a live version. Buddy and sister Charli do a great job on vocals. Their vocals are quite remarkable. Gospel song "On The Right Side" is done very well by Kelsi on lead vocals. The last song "Boondocks" is done very well in a trio style by Kelsi, Charli and Buddy. These youngsters are very entertaining, they have lots of youtubes on youtube, and they really sound great live. Some of their vocal arrangements are like the best in bluegrass. I would love to catch them at a festival this year. They have some original songs on the CD too. Kelsi wrote "One Foot in The Grave" and "Just Any Moment". I love their version of "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger" and "Draggin My Heart Around", a couple of songs that are pretty popular. They are fortunate to be a member of Mountain Home Records, which also has the "Grascals" and "Balsam Range". Mountain Home Records is blessed to have one of the best recording engineers around in their studio in the Mountains of North Carolina. And I have yet to hear , Van Atkins do a bad recording. He not only records their CDs , but also does the mastering, which is unusual. Most groups or labels all send their finished record out to a good mastering engineer like Doug Sax or Georgetown Masters in Nashville, Tennessee. Van just switched over from 2 inch analog tape to Pro Tools in the last couple of years. He is simply one of the best in Bluegrass. The artwork on the CD is great too, There is a living room chair on the Cover, with a blackboard which says simply "Flatt Lonesome" on it. This is a group with a huge upside to it. Check them out.
                                                               www.FlattLonesome.com
www.crossroadsmusic.com

"Where Were You When THe World Stopped Turning?" - Alan Jackson

"Move Me Brightly" - Tribute to Jerry Garcia on 70th Birthday,TRI

Honestly, This show blew me away, I was not prepared for this wild ,eclectic, huge crowd of musicians. Phil, Thanks for starting your night off here, before you left for your own show, which was at your studio. Mike Gordon fit in very well, and played each song like he had known it for awhile, which, he probably had. I have watched all of the highlights show, which was an excellent choice of shows. Bobby, great job as emcee, and keeping everything going smoothly. This in my own honest opinion was the Best presentation of Dead songs since the last days of the Dead, and some of the "Furthur" shows. There is something in the music this night, that is just so cohesive, that is a vibe of the presence of the Dead. The show starts out with a reverant version of "The Wheel", which is a Jerry song witha Spiritual side to it. Phil came to play in the songs He played in, He looks good for all of the health problems that he has had over the last number of years, He also sounded very good, both on bass and his vocals in the first 2 songs that he sang in, "The Wheel" and "Cumberland Blues" . As He left, Mike Gordon came up on stage with Phil's bass, for which I did not know was going to be for the next 4 hours. I really appreciate what Weir had in mind when that studio was built,I am sure there is some great normal CD recording that goes on there but it was built for streaming video, and internet shows. This is going to be a hard one to top. The first one to show up was the 2 hour highlights version, which is the best of the best and now, right beside it on youtube, is the whole 4 hour 23 minute show. What is remarkable is the quality of the picture, probably would look great on a 36 inch screen. Also, They have a huge selection of vintage mikes, amps, guitars, pedals,lots of guitarists were bringing out that Envelope filter sound that Garcia put in his sound in the seventies. OK, some quick faves of mine,"Ship Of Fools" sang masterfully by Neal Casal and he also took my head off with his guitar solo. "Mission In The Rain" sang by Jonathon Wilson made you think that Jerry was in the house, as he sang this and also when he turned on his envelope filter and played an awesome guitar break. Donna Godcheaux was on the stage for these two and she was singing fine and just getting into it. "Terrapin Station" took me back to another time as these young guitarists on stage just about nailed the song, especially a 3 part harmony guitar part that was incredible. Cass McCombs sang the lead on this as he did on "Dupree's Diamond Blues", Cass did a great version on both of these songs. This is as good of a version of Terrapin as I have ever Heard. In ending, I don't know how this concert could be topped today, but I am happy that We have TRI Studios to hear good music on. Excellent production.                            -Check Out You Tube for 4 Hour Show-

Grasstowne - Kickin' Up Dust

"Paper Airplane" - AKUS

Graves Mountain Celebration with Rural Rhytmn Records

Search Amazon.com for Rural Rhythm records,Carrie Hassler

The Grascals "The Last Train To Clarksville" -

"Tears ,Lies and Alibis" - Shelby Lynne - A Review

This is a bit of a new sound for Shelby and she produced it, sounds a bit like "Identity Crisis" ,which she also recorded partly.
She wrote all ten songs here and there is a variety of acoustic ,jazz like, with some interesting lyrics and melodies.

This CD has areal mellow vibe to it. "Old Dog" - She sings this with some sarcastic lyrics. She plays some sweet syncopated rhytmn guitar.

"Alibi" is a different type of Cheating song, about a guy and his Alibi. "Home Sweet Home" is a very good acoustic song, with a real sweet sound, thanks Doug Sax and mastering lab. "Home sweet Home" has mostly just her on it.

"Why Didn't you call me?" This is a very good jazzy sounding tune, with some horns. This was engineered by Brian Harrison and she helped. "Something To Be Said About Airstreams" - I love this song, she really has good lyrics in this recording. Just a real audiophile sound and a song that has a great groove.

"Rains Came" has the most electric guitar on it, yet nothing loud, just some quiet licks, This was mastered by Doug SaX and his assistant @ The Mastering Lab,


www.shelbylynne.com

Mountain Heart adds guitar Phenom Jake Stargel

“Mountain Heart” is thrilled to announce the addition of guitar phenom Jake Stargel as a member of the band effective immediately. Jake’s first show with Mountain Heart will take place on Thursday, July 2, 2010 when he joins them in the long awaited co-bill with guitar legend Tony Rice at the prestigious Red, White & Bluegrass Festival in Morganton, NC.
Jake is replacing long time guitarist Clay Jones, who is leaving the band for personal reasons. Clay’s impending departure was known within the group for some time and only announced after a search for his replacement was completed. Mountain Heart enjoyed a very successful association with Clay and the band wishes him the very best in his future endeavors.
Jake Stargel is a native Georgian, seemingly born with a guitar in his capable hands. Only 19 years of age, Jake has a phenomenal feel for his instrument and is blazing a trail to become one of the masters of the genre. After being named the Georgia Flat-picking Champion as a very young teen, Jake first came to national attention with stints in the Lovell Sisters at the tender age of 15, later as a member of Grammy nominated “The Greencards” and most recently “Bearfoot”.
Acoustic guitar legend Bryan Sutton has high praise for this young man’s talents and future. “Jake is great! He can do pretty much anything on the guitar. He seems to have a good character, too. He’s going to be a monster addition to Mountain Heart.”
In addition to the guitar, Jake also plays piano, mandolin, mandola and electric guitar. Jake's intensity, fire, and unbelievable musicianship are the stuff legends are made of!

"This Song's For You" - Joey and Rorey with Zac Brown