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COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
Uncle
Walt's Band -> Redd Volkaert
| LEROY VAN DYKE |
Bear Family BCD 15647 |
The Auctioneer |
● CD $21.98 |
15 tracks, 31 min., good. Before he hit the big time on the
pop charts with Walk On By, Van Dyke enjoyed a country hit on the
Dot label with the title tune here in 1956. The demands of the time being
what they were, however, Dot executives tried to groom him for a 50's
country-pop crossover sound, either as a ballad singer or as a
late-blooming rockabilly star. But the rather uncomfortable cover version
here of Amos Milburn's Chicken Shack Boogie would suggest that the
experiment was not entirely successful. The mixture of pop and country
tracks includes as well I'm Movin' On/ One Heart a remake of Elvis
Presley's Poor Boy/ Everytime I Ask My Heart, and Honky Tonk
Song. Bear Family's typical level of quality in sound and package
design. (DH)
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| LEROY VAN DYKE |
Bear Family BCD 15779 |
Walk On By |
● CD $21.98 |
30 tracks, 70 min., recommended. Having already issued Van
Dyke's earlier Dot recordings, Bear Family here offers his complete
recordings for the Mercury label, including his biggest hit, Walk on By.
These numbers still find the artist in the position of trying to find a
path midway between the country and the pop music market. And sometimes
the mix works pretty well, as it does with If a Woman Answers/ Happy to
Be Unhappy and the previously unreleased Save Me the Moonlight.
But, at other times, particularly on cover tunes such as Faded Love/
Loveletters in the Sand and Don't Forbid Me, the results are
not so pleasing. Much of this is a matter of personal taste of course, and
Van Dyke does have a pleasing baritone either way. Otherwise, Bear Family
does its normal impeccable job here, with excellent sound quality, solid
photos, and a lengthy booklet filled with biographical and discographical
information. (DH)
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| RICKY VAN SHELTON |
Columbia CK 40602 |
Wild-Eyed Dream |
● CD $9.98 |
Ricky Van Shelton, another truly incredible talent of new
generation Nashville, is the Real Thing. I actually like him better than
Dwight Yoakam, and his approach to rockabilly is real and his ballads are
unreal. He cut every vocal here live and in one take, and it sounds it.
Play it next to some of the best Sun stuff and you'll get tingles from
both - no exaggeration. Crime Of Passion is as compelling as
anything I've heard in years. Obviously the fans agreed since Crime Of
Passion, Somebody Lied and Life Turned her That Way have
been massive hits firmly establishing him as a major artist. (RK)
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| RICKY VAN SHELTON |
Columbia CK 44221 |
Loving Proof |
● CD $9.98 |
Tremendous 1988 follow-up to his best-selling 1986 debut,
mixing contemporary material with oldies. with a bit more emphasis on the
latter. The newer numbers include Wayne Kemp's great I'll Leave This
World Loving You, and Don't Send Me No Angels as well as Living
Proof (NOT the Hank Williams, Jr. song). His version of the 1963 Ned
Miller hit From A Jack To A King may well make this classic a hit
again. There's also a note-for-note remake of one of my favorites, Little
Jimmy Dickens' rockabilly anthem I Cut A Hole In My Pocket, The
Wilburn Brothers' 1959 Somebody's Back In Town and a fantastic
reworking of the old Patsy Cline hit She's Got You. Considering how
disappointing Randy Travis's latest is, Van Shelton and producer Steve
Buckingham clearly have a better grip on things. (RK)
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| RICKY VAN SHELTON |
Columbia CK 45250 |
RVS III |
● CD $9.98 |
Shelton's third from 1990 is unbalanced and ballad heavy,
though it has its moments including his hit revival of the 1969 Jack
Greene hit Statue Of A Fool and a new version of the minor 1966
Jerry Wallace hit Not That I Care. Both songs become Shelton's the
minute he begins to sing. Other numbers aren't so strong, like his
pointless remake of Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman and the Vegas
style rockabilly number Love Is Burnin'. Yet they left off the
terrific version of Ernest Tubb's Thanks A Lot he's been doing
onstage lately. Despite some strong moments, this one's a bit of a
letdown. (RK)
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| RICKY VAN SHELTON |
Columbia CK 46854 |
Don't Overlook Salvation |
● CD $9.98 |
New recordings of spirituals like I Shall Not Be Moved/
Family Bible/ The Old Rugged Cross/ I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy
- 11 in all.
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| TOWNES VAN ZANDT |
Rhino-Tomato 71241 |
Our Mother The Mountain |
● CD $11.98 |
Originally released as Tomato 7015 in 1978,
"Mountain" is a fine choice for reissue in terms of accessibility. It's both
lyrically and melodically rich and the imagery is not as stark as
evidenced on
Delta Momma Blues or
Townes Van Zandt . There is some orchestration scattered here and there
with incidental piano thrown in. His writing and singing is characterized
by a feeling of something ominous, dark and foreboding lurking around the
next corner. But his music isn't depressing. A definite trace of blues
sentiments and textures are part of Townes's plaintive vocal style. Jack
Clement's production values are a real bonus, he surrounds each song with
just the right amount of accompaniment. (SG)
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| TOWNES VAN ZANDT |
Rhino-Tomato 71242 |
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt |
● CD $11.98 |
Reissue of Tomato LP.
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| TOWNES VAN ZANDT |
Sugar Hill 1046 |
No Deeper Blue |
● CD $15.98 |
From 1995 his first studio album in eight years features all
new songs.
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| TOWNES VAN ZANDT |
Sugar Hill 1056 |
The Highway Kind |
● CD $15.98 |
14 tracks, 49 min., recommended. Van Zandt passed away as
1997 began, so, barring any treasure trove of unissued numbers, the few
stark songs here are likely his last musical testament. Most are live
recordings made during recent US and European tours where he is
accompanied only by his own guitar. And, appropriately enough for the
rather downbeat material chosen, in his performances here he sounds pretty
tired and worn. Selections include Still Lookin' for You, Lost
Highway, (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle, Blaze’s Blues,
Darcy Farrow, Wreck on the Highway, and Ira Hayes. A
forlorn closing statement by one of the most reclusive and
highly-thought-of country/folk songwriters of the last few decades. (DH)
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| RHONDA VINCENT |
Rebel 1665 |
New Dreams & Sunshine |
● CD $15.98 |
Familiar to bluegrass fans as the standout member of the
Sally Mountain Show, a Missouri family band, Rhonda is a talented singer,
fiddler, and mandolinist. On this solo album, her talent steps to the
forefront. The instrumentation is bluegrass, but the arrangements and
material, lean toward commercial country, albeit nicely done. Particularly
nice are Rhonda's versions of Dolly Parton's "My Blue Tears" and
Eddy Raven's "Country Rain". On "New Dreams and
Sunshine", she's joined by Charlie Louvin, and David Parmley sings
harmony on "We Belong Together". All in all, an auspicious debut
solo album. (RP)
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| RHONDA VINCENT |
Rebel 1692 |
Bound For Gloryland |
● CD $15.98 |
Rhonda Vincent is a young fiddler, mandolin player and
singer with Barbara Mandrell looks and a singing style that Alison Krauss
freely acknowledges as her major influence. In a just world, Rhonda would
be a major country star, and perhaps it will still happen for her. She is
best known, however, in bluegrass circles as a member of The Sally
Mountain Show, with her father Johnny on banjo, mother Carolyn on bass,
and brothers Darrin and Brian on various instruments and vocals. The
twelve cuts here are mostly gospel, with the exception of the Harlan
Howard's sentimental weeper Deepening Snow. For a closer look at
Rhonda's talent, check out her two solo albums on Rebel. This album shows
a family band at work, with glimpses of a major talent every once in a
while. Rhonda's harmony singing on the Roy Acuff classic Precious Jewel,
for instance, is hair-raising. (RP)
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| RHONDA VINCENT |
Rebel 1697 |
Timeless And True Love |
● CD $15.98 |
One of the best kept secrets in bluegrass, Rhonda is a fine
fiddler, mandolinist, and has a voice to die for. Although the
instrumentation here is, for the most part, bluegrass Rhonda's vocal style
owes more to Dolly Parton than to Delia Bell and the repertoire here is
decidedly country, including two Whitey Shafer numbers and I'm Not That
Lonely Yet, a great weeper that was a hit for Reba McIntire. Alison
Krauss sings harmony on Artificial Tears and Rhonda's influence on
Alison is readily evident. Other singers and players include Bela Fleck,
Allison Brown, Darrin and Johnny Vincent, David Parmley, and Pig Robbins.
RP
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| RHONDA VINCENT |
Rounder 0460 |
Back Home Again |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks, 36 minutes, recommended Vincent's latest album
represents a return to the bluegrass sound with which she has been most
closely associated, prior to a decade long struggle to establish herself
as a country artist. While that work resulted in some substantial material
(mostly on the Giant label), it's nice to hear her emphasizing bluegrass
arrangements again. Here she is supported by younger brother Darrin on
bass, Jerry Kennedy on dobro, guitarist Bryant Sutton, and her own
mandolin playing. Uptempo bluegrass numbers like You're in my Heart,
Jimmy Martin's Pretending I Don't Care, and The Passing of the
Train are interspersed with country numbers including When I Close
My Eyes and two songs associated with the Louvin Brothers, You're
Running Wild and Out of Hand. Vincent is in excellent voice and
the accompaniment is fine. I found the material a little uneven (did we
really need another cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene) and this
reduced my enjoyment of the album somewhat, but overall this is a solid
effort sure to be appreciated by Vincent's fans. (DP)
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| THE VIRGINIA SQUIRES |
Rebel 1669 |
Variations |
● CD $15.98 |
These guys are talented singers and players (particularly
Rickie Simkins on violin and mandolin - incredibly hot!), but they owe
more to the Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama than Bill Monroe in terms of their
overall sound. The vocal harmonies are very well done, but their
"modern" approach tends to overshadow even the harmonies on
traditionally oriented material. Nice versions, though, of " I've
Just Seen the Rock of Ages" and " I'll Be Going to Heaven
Sometime." I just wish they were a little less slick, although this
is only a personal preference. They're very popular and successful in the
Southeast. (RP)
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| REDD VOLKAERT |
Hightone 8129 |
No Stranger To A Tele |
● CD $15.98 |
New album from current lead guitarist with Merle Haggard's
band is another fine blend of top notch instrumentals (mostly originals)
and songs (mostly covers of songs from Wynn Stewart, Merle Haggard and
others). With Norman Hamlet/ steel guitar, Floyd Domino/ piano and others.
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| REDD VOLKAERT |
HMG 3002 |
Telewacker |
● CD $15.98 |
Recommended This one caught me by surprise. Redd's a
Canadian transplanted to Nashville & works as Merle Haggard's
guitarist. This set is full of country, honky tonk, western swing, divided
between instrumentals & vocals with Redd's pleasing baritone. The
Band's an unusual quartet of guitar, bass, drums & Jim Murphy on pedal
steel with some doubling on sax. Most tunes are Valkaert originals with
titles such as Telewacker/ Tube'n/ Breakneck/ Redd White & Blue,
with a few choice covers as Bob Will's Home In San Antone, Bobby
"Blue" Bland's Dann Penn penned I Hate You & George
Jones's You're Still On My Mind & Hag's classic Strangers.
(GM)
REDD VOLKAERT: Breakneck/ Home In San Antone/ I Hate You/ It's A Minor
Thing/ Redd, White & Blue/ Reed My Tele/ She Loves Anything That
Swings/ Strangers/ Stumbling/ Telewacker/ That Girl Who Waits On Tables/
The Buck Stops Here/ Tube'n/ You're Still On My Mind
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