40th Anniversary Celebration
Stretch Grass, 2020
8/10
Listen to 40th Anniversary Celebration
The legendary Gary Brewer is in great company to celebrate his 4 decades in the business, as Sam Bush, Doyle Lawson and T. Graham Brown, among others, are in attendance for this perfect example of modern day bluegrass sounds.
“Goin’ Up Shell Creek” starts the listen with fluid bluegrass and soothing vocal harmonies as The Travelin’ McCourys lend a very capable hand, and it isn’t long until Dale Ann Bradley contributes her strong pipes to the calm, bluegrass balladry of “Daddy And The Old Oak Tree”.
Some of the middle tracks are the best, including the Ralph Stanley II assisted “Home Ain’t The Way It Used To Be”, as well as the string magic of the dynamic “Girl From A Mountain”, where the timeless song craft and superb delivery display impressive skill.
Closer to the end, “Love In The Mountains”, with Ashton Shepherd’s soaring pipes, flows with intricate, highly melodic instrumentation, and “Big Train”, with Doug Phelps of The Kentucky Headhunters fame, comes along for the freewheelin’, stringed masterpiece where the vocal work remains very strong.
A listen that spans country, Americana, gospel, mountain sounds and, of course, bluegrass, Brewer is showing no signs of slowing down with his work, and we’re all better off for it as he continues to produce top notch music.
Travels well with: Dale Ann Bradley- The Hard Way; Carolina Blue- I Hear Bluegrass Calling Me