Mountain Blue

I'm still hearing Etta James At Last in my head as I write today. What a great voice! She will be missed.

I'd like to feature an album I just acquired last month, It's titled for the name of the group, Mountan Blue. I stumbled onto Mountain Blue purely by chance one Sunday as I was driving home from an interview with a presthood leader. I had the FM100 Sound of Sunday program playing on the radio, something I rarely do, when a version of Down to the River to Pray came on that was new to me. It was still playing as I pulled into the garage. I was so mesmerised I left the radio on after shutting off the car so it could play out. I loved it even more than the Alison Krauss, O Brother Where Art Thou, version which is saying something. Luckily the dj announced that it was performed by the group Mountain Blue. I looked them up on the internet and a few days later ordered the album of the same name because it had Down to the River to Pray, the song that I first identified with them. I ordered the cd from Todd Horne, one of the founding members of the group. He was offering a free copy of the group's first album Gospel Train with an order of one of their current albums, so I took him up on the offer. The group was known as Blue Cheese on that album and had a different line up. The group on Mountain Blue consists of: Todd Horne - baritone, Spencer Whitham - bass, Adam Monteith - tenor and either Kristine Perry Monteith or Kindra Clemence - alto, depending on track.  I've been really enjoying this newer album. The harmonies are amazing and the mix of 3 guy singers with one girl is really cool. That gives them a higher range than you could normally attain with an all male quartet. Having been brought up on barbershop harmony and having sung it myself, I really enjoy 4 part harmony. These guys (and gal) take it to another level. They are an LDS group but are singing in a genre less known around these parts, namely bluegrass/Southern gospel. I like this format much better than the typical pop a-pella stuff that's so prevalent now. Did I fail to mention they sing a-capella? Interestingly, the first album (freebie) was a bit of a bust for me. They seemed to be sorting out their sound at that point. The Mountain Blue cd is a quantum leap above Gospel Train, at least to my non-professional ears. After receiving the cd, Todd emailed me that his favorite album by the group is the one I didn't purchase (hint, hint) called Roll Back the Stone. I've listened to the samples and can see why he'd say that. It has what could be argued as their best number, Jesus Love is Like a River. Many of the tracks are shared by the 2 newer albums, so it's hard to justify another purchase. If only Jesus Love were available on Itunes! Anyway, I like all the tracks on Mountain Blue with the possible exception of Man of Constant Sorrow. That's one where the O Brother (Dan Tyminski) version is clearly superior. They've made a coupla' more changes to their line up with the departure of the Montieths. Tenor is now being sung by Drew Norton and alto is carried by Julia Sanders. I haven't heard the current incarnation, but hope to catch a performance sometime soon. In the mean time I'm highly recommending their 2 latest albums. Rating for Mountain Blue: 4.5 stars

Here's Jesus Love is Like a River from Youtube:

Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe

Sometime in the '80's I happened to inadvertently catch Ricky Skaggs on one of the country music award shows picking acoustic guitar at a frightening clip. This was long before I had any real interest in country music, but it made a lasting impression. I made a mental note to check this guy out sometime. Fast forward to the end of the '90's when I got my first in-car cd player. Wanting to expand my horizons I started checking out all kinds of cds from my local public library. As I was thumbing through the country files one day I came across some of Ricky Skagg's work and that little note I'd filed away in my mind came to the fore. I started listening to his stuff and for the most part loved it all. This was about the time he'd abandoned main stream country in favor of returning to his Bluegrass roots. My favorite Ricky Skaggs album is the one pictured above. It's Bluegrass to be sure, as it's a tribute to the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, but it's also pretty progressive in style and sound with the inclusion of many artists not normally associated with Bluegrass like Bruce Hornsby, John Fogerty, Joan Osborne and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Most of the other contributors are pulled from mainstream country and most likely have some past association with Bluegrass. These would include: Steve Wariner, The Dixie Chicks, Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels and Dwight yoakam. The remaining artists have a closer association with Bluegrass. They are Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless and The Whites. Dolly had recently changed course like Ricky having done her own Bluegrass album, The Grass Is Blue. She went on to record Little Sparrow, one of the best Bluegrass albums around! Patty would also shortly make a return to her roots with the superb Bluegrass album Mountain Soul. The Whites consist of Buck White and his two daughters, Sharon and Cheryl and while they're style isn't strictly Bluegrass, they are far more rootsy than your typical country group which would explain their inclusion in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou. That movie had a profound effect on the current popularity of Bluegrass and roots music in general. Another bit of trivia, Ricky is married to Sharon White. Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe was released in 2000 under Ricky Skaggs own record label, Skaggs Family Records. It was re-released under the Lyric Street label in 2002 as Ricky Skaggs and Friends Sing The Songs of Bill Monroe. I purchased the latter version as the original wasn't available when I went looking for it after playing the library copy to death. The only difference between the two versions, aside from the cool cover art of the original, is the inclusion of the extra track Uncle Pen on the Lryic Street cd. There's not a bad track on this cd. Many of these artists are favorites in their own right, so I was quite happy to see their appearance here. Ricky takes part on every track. Most feature his vocals and his excellent mandolin playing. My favorite cut of all is Walk Softly On This Heart of Mine with the Dixie Chicks. The Chicks come from a rootsy background, so this song fits like a glove. I can't get enough of it! As you would expect, the musicianship is excellent on all tracks. If you haven't heard this album, get yourself a copy. You won't regret it!

Rats! I forgot that I'm now rating albums. I'm giving Big Mon 3.5 stars.

Suzy Bogguss Performs at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum

Suzy Bogguss posted this link to a concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum on Facebook (click on the blue blog title). I decided I'd take the time to watch and listen. So glad I did! I've been fascinated by her friendship with Chet Atkins and found this performance enlightening as part of the concert included an interview by Ali Tonn with Suzy on the very subject. Based on her remembrances, you'd have to conclude that Chet was a delightful, modest man with a wonderfully dry sense of humor. He was a Nashville legend and Suzy was privileged to have his support early in her career. You'd have to be crazy to question his assessment of her lovely vocals knowing his tremendous musical credibility when he says "her voice sparkles like crystal water". This concert was similar enough to the one she did in Heber City, Utah that it could be a good substitute if you missed it or if you were there as was I, it's an excellent refresher. The band is fuller in this instance with the addition of Harry Stinson on drums and Fred Carpenter on fiddle/mandolin. The only complaint band-wise is there wasn't as much back and forth between Suzy and crew as there was in Utah. Pat Bergeson shines on the songs they cover that were originally done by Suzy and Chet. Seeing that Pat is a Chet protege, it shouldn't come as a big surprise that he can duplicate Chet's licks very well indeed. Of particular note are the Beatles number All My Loving and the oh so beautiful Michael Johnson penned When She Smiled at Him. When She Smiled at Him is one of my all time favorite Suzy numbers. So cool to see it performed live. Gotta see if I can get a request in for it the next time I see her perform! This concert is well worth watching for those two numbers alone. They also perform One More for the Road a number she co-wrote with Chet and husband Doug Crider. That's another one I'd never seen her perform before. Loved it! Pat's playing again is amazing. Check it out. You'll love it too!