CD Record Reviews by Ian Reynolds
1994 Rebel CD 1712 Tracks: Big Mon, Carolina Moon , Cold Sheets Of Rain, Dixie I Love You, I Call Your Name, Kneel Down And Pray Up, Knockin On Your Door, Last Train, My Heart Never Lies, My Little Girl In Tennessee, The Last to Know, There Ain’t Nothing In It For Me. ‘Carolina Moon’ was the first Lou Reid project to be released by the Roanoke, VA label ‘Rebel’. Listening to the album with the benefit of hindsight, it’s not difficult to see why the band was named the IBMA’s ‘Emerging Artists of the Year’. Reid’s vocals do it for me; how does he make those high register notes sound so soulful? Take Last Train as an example. There’s a folky edge to the singing that reminds you of Woody Guthrie, but much of the improvisation has bluesy overtones. You get the feeling that, live, Lou Reid would be like The Red Rector and Bill Clifton. Those guys had voices that would shatter glass. But the music is pure bluegrass: A traditional line up of instruments, steepling harmonies, and some stunning musical virtuosity: Check out Clay Jone’s flat picking on ‘Big Mon’ and try not to burn your guitar... Elsewhere, new music from writers like Peter Rowan and Carl Jackson. I especially liked the really kicking version of Bill Castle’s Kneel Down and Pray up There’s no confusion as to who’s in charge of this outfit. Lou Reid is no stranger to the big time. He was a founder member of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver, spent four years in Ricky Skagg’s band and six as lead singer of Seldom Scene. Maybe he finds inspiration in a constantly changing line up, but it’s nevertheless a surprise to discover than none of the players on this album made it to the next... No matter. This is a great CD. If you can’t win it, go out and buy it! The Cox Family: ‘Everybody’s Reaching Out For Someone’ Rounder CD 0297 Reviewed by Ian Reynolds Tracks: Standing By The Bedside Of A Neighbour; Look Me Up By The Ocean Door; Everybody's Reaching Out For Someone; Little Whitewashed Chimney; Cry Baby Cry; I've Got That Old Feeling; But I Do; Why Not Confess; Pardon Me; My Favourite Memory; When God Dips His Pen Of Love In My Heart; Backroads. Released in 1993, Everybody’s Reaching Out For Someone catapulted the family singing group from Cotton Valley, Louisiana, to international acclaim. Writing on the CD sleeve, Alison Krauss confides: “When you reach the Pearly gates, they’ll be playing The Cox Family”, and I can think of worse soundtracks to accompany the day of judgement. This is an essential album; there’s something here to appeal to anyone who ever sat in on a session. The vocals, somehow both breathy and pure, capture the trade mark ‘lonesome’ Bluegrass sound and yet remain warming and comforting, rather like a mature and cherished single malt. The band, augmented by the chaps from Union Station, achieve a minimalist clarity of purpose ideally suited to show-case the singing. The choice of material - standards like Bill Clifton’s Little Whitewashed Chimney and Pardon Me by Jim and Jesse McReynolds, alongside new material from Sidney Cox - is faultless. For me, it’s the original songs that make this album such a landmark. There’s not a lot new in the themes - boy leaves girl but it hurts him more than it hurts her - but there’s no corny sentimentality. The arrangements are superb and Adam Steffey’s mandolin playing will make your eyes water. Since the release of Everybody’s Reaching, ‘the times they are a changin’ for the Cox family. Alison Krauss’s Grammys have reflected well on the band, and not least on Sidney Cox, whose songs have become standards, mainly as a result of Krauss’s patronage. And it seems that The Cox Family’s future may mean a departure from the festivals that have been their stock in trade for years. Counting Crows main man, Adam Duritz, had the band front The Crows’ recent sell out US tour. The Cox Family are, without doubt, one of the hottest contemporary bluegrass groups around. This is one to use your Christmas record token on, even if it is only 38 minutes worth of music... |
Carolina Moon : Lou Reid, Terry Baucom and
Carolina