Label/number/year: Rounder CD 11661-0463-2 (1999)

Tracks: John And Mary / Rose Of My Heart / Lovin’ You, Goin’ Blind / Cold Summer Days In Georgia / Milk Cow Blues / Snow Angel / Blue Ridge Mountains Memories / I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble / Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind / Another Evening Alone / Just Call On Him / Coal Mine Blues / Bobby And Millie / On The Lonely Side of Town

Personnel:Ray Deaton (acoustic bass, vocals), Russell Moore (guitar, vocals), Mike Hartgrove (fiddle)Wayne Benson (mandolin, mandola, vocals) Steve Dilling (banjo, guitar, vocals)

Special guests: Rob Ickes (resophonic guitar), Tim Austin (percussion).

Geoff Bowers, The Author

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME that I’d had the chance to hear this band and after seeing them endlessly advertised on the US Festivals for a good few years now. It’s been a piece of good luck indeed to have the chance to review this fine CD.

My own particular tastes and background are well catered for here and I know that it will appeal to a wide audience. The title track has a powerful old-timey feel to the mandola introduction and a great fast-moving set of lyrics; my personal favourite track. On first hearing I felt that this CD tried to cover too many fields. It comes at an opportune time as far as this magazine’s continuing discussion on the future of bluegrass is concerned. It demonstrates very well for me how, provided that the standard and taste of execution is equally good across the board, a good bluegrass band can carry all before it. I only got as far as second playing before I was hooked!

IIIrd Time Out has all of the ingredients of the ideal bluegrass band. Firstly, and probably most importantly, is the powerful tenor / high tenor lead voice of Russell Moore. I wasn’t surprised to read that they have been voted an “unimaginable five straight Vocal Group of the Year awards by the IBMA.” This goes to demonstrate the depth the group has vocally. They do a good range of material which will satisfy hard-nosed bluegrassers while it shows old-timey flavour and even a good version of Milk Cow Blues in which they do an a capella chorus! A capella freaks will really like Just Call On Him, which has all the fine quality of the Doyle Lawson band. The Country audience too will find a flavour to please - and as Kenny Everett would have said… “All in the best possible taste!”

Mike Hartgrove on fiddle does a fine job and has some of the Stuart Duncan qualities, which - for my money - is the best thing I can say about a fiddler. Mike shows drive, finesse and feel for those slow, expressive lines and double stops. Add to all this excellent banjo and dobro playing with good solid bass, I don’t think that there will be any disappointed buyers for this CD. There is even a great guitar duet break in there for good measure. (So good in fact, that I had to concentrate really hard before deciding whether it was one guitar or two!)

Lovin’ You, Goin’ Blind has the good feel of The Lonesome River Band with it. Actually, there are a lot of good bluegrass bands and artists that IIIrd Time Out compare very favourably with. Snow Angel is another well-executed slow, high-lonesome, gospel number. I can honestly say that there isn’t a single track which I don’t like.

If the only thing that I could be pressed to shake a stick at, is the minuscule printing on the inner sheet, then that may give some idea of the quality of this CD.

Buy it - it is that rare CD which you could give to anyone and know that there is something for him or her in there.

Geoff Bowers, Nottingham | Write to Geoff |

1st Jan 2000