CMT Blog: Archive

While going through a stack of new releases, I grew particularly fond of three bluegrass albums, so I figured I'd share them with you. The first is Still Moving Mountains: The Journey Home, a compilation from Aurora Lights that aims to bring attention to Appalachian mountaintop removal. Songs like Blue Highway's "Clear Cut" illustrate the environmental impact from this controversial mining practice, which razes the top of mountains to get at a layer of coal, but ultimately devastates the area's natural resources. Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers, Kathy Mattea, the Del McCoury Band and numerous local musicians contribute tracks as well. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provides a stirring testimonial toward the end.

Longtime bluegrass fans will recognize several folks in Grasstowne, which just put out their second album, The Other Side of Towne, on Pinecastle Records. Guitarist Steve Gulley and mandolin player Alan Bibey (formerly of Mountain Heart and BlueRidge, respectively) trade lead vocal duties, supplemented by IBMA-winning Dobro player Phil Leadbetter, banjo picker Jason Davis and bass player Travis Greer. (On fiddle, that's special guest Stuart Duncan). "Big, Big Heartaches" is one of the catchiest bluegrass tunes I've heard all year and I'm always happy to hear what songwriter Craig Market has been up to -- in this case, the soaring "Laura Lie."

If you're into bluegrass instrumentals, check out banjo picker/instructor Ross Nickerson's Let's Kick Some Ass. That's an odd album title, isn't it? Anyway, Nickerson enlists everybody in Blue Highway (except banjo player Jason Burleson) to lay down several bluegrass staples ("Little Maggie," "Jerusalem Ridge," "Don't This Road Look Rough and Rocky") and a few surprises (George and Ira Gershwin's "Lady Be Good"). He also contributes a couple of his originals. If I tried to play as fast as these guys, my fingers would crack into pieces.