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Blue Ridge
Side By Side
Sugar Hill Records
By Steve Cooper
 The
third album by this aptly named band is a solid, blue fescue
delight. A mix of trad grass and new acoustic, it all works
seamlessly. Led by veteran grassers Alan Bibey (on mandolin)
and Harry "Junior" Sisk (on guitar), Blue Ridge carries
on in the best new/old tradition of such bands as Lonesome Standard
Time, the Del McCoury Band, IIIrd Thyme Out, and the Lonesome
River Band.
Filling out this fine quintet are Alan Johnson on fiddle,
Ed Biggerstaff on bass, and Joey Cox on banjo. Either Sisk or
Bibey, however, write most of the songs and sing most all of
the lead vocals. The opening cut, "What If (Then I'll Come
Back to You)," written and sung by Sisk, is a mid-tempo
bluegrass with a clever lyric: "When drops of silver quarters
fall from the heavenly blue/And God has made dark angels, then
I'll come back to you." In other words, he's a long time
gone. Sisk's voice is southern and nasal, as is customary in
bluegrass circles, with a winning naturalness. Bibey chimes
in on high harmonies. Mr. Cox shines on banjo, achieving a chicken-pluck,
talking tone. Bibey, long a mandolin wiz, handles the lion's
share of the instrumental solos. This is grass without the dangerous
edge of a Del McCoury, but with the breezy professionalism of
a Lonesome River Band. It goes down toe-tappin' easy.
Once again, Jesse Winchester's "Brand New Tennessee Waltz"
is adapted to bluegrass with fine effect. Sisk again takes the
lead, his unaffected, expressive tenor conveying Jesse's homesick
tale. I wish, however, that at least one grass band would cover
another Jesse Winchester song. To my ears, many of Jesse's songs
could cross over into Bill Monroe's domain (thinking "Let
the Rough Side Drag," "Midnight Bus," and "Working
in the Vineyard" to name but three).
Blue Ridge displays their country gospel wares on "Ten
Plagues." Sisk takes lead again, with fiddleman Alan Johnson
singing the good ol' gospel bass part. Written by non-bandmember
Dean Hearl, the song is a recounting of the ten plagues Pharaoh
suffered for refusing Moses' request to let his people go. It
seems one has to go to bluegrass to get Old Testament gospel.
Most Contemporary Christian concerns itself almost exclusively
with the New Testament. Going deeper in the Biblical songbag
is refreshing and welcome. Blue Ridge proves they can "do
a Doyle Lawson," as well as "do a Big Mon."
Of course, it goes without saying that all bluegrass albums
must have at least one instrumental. "Avalance," penned
by Bibey and featuring his lightning fast mandolin pickin', is
a fast-yet-smooth hoedown of a song. Bibey, the instrumental
monster of the group, gets monstrous, with dizzying runs and
licks on the mando. Cox, on banjo, engages in some tasty interplay
with Bibey.
Another must for bluegrass albums these days is not only a
gospel song, but an a cappella gospel song. Blue Ridge chooses
the traditional "Land of Light" for this purpose.
Sisk takes lead, with bassist Ed Biggerstaff especially choice
on high tenor. Johnson on bass vocal and Bibey on baritone round
out the quartet (it appears banjo man Cox doesn't sing). This
is gather-'round-the-mike-and-harmonize good stuff.
The title track, written by Bibey, is a sort of bluegrass
"September Song." A simple tale of the life-long love
of a happy marriage, the minor-key melody is a swaying grabber;
bluegrass with more than a dash of singer/songwriter. In a bit
of a lyrical switch, ma passes on before pa and pa's loneliness
is eased by the lines: "She'll be waiting on the other side/You
can see her when you close your eyes."
Blue Ridge proves their trad credentials on the public domain
weeper "All the Good Times." Sisk is mournfully raw
and fine on lead. This is bluegrass that mixes in a bit of Carter
Family country. Think Dry Branch Fire Squad and you'll have
some notion of the sound.
Be it new grass, old grass, in-between grass, southern gospel,
a cappella gospel, or instrumental workout, Blue Ridge is professional
and persuasive. See them "tearin' it up" at a dinner-on-the-ground,
bluegrass festival near you.
Contact Steve Cooper at: cooper-at-rockzilla.net
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