Billy Blue Records’ release Country Faith Bluegrass is the first in a planned Country Faith series. No one can accuse the boutique label of craven cash-grabs assembling and promoting a collection featuring high profile mainstream country music stars indulging passions they seldom allow themselves to enjoy and bluegrass titans burnishing their legacies. Some songs are drawn from prior releases but there are originals recorded for this album as well as previously unreleased material.
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The album begins with a one-two punch certain to catch your attention. We turn back the clock to 2006 with Vince Gill’s “All Prayed Up” but this is a timeless composition. His inspired testimony in song could come off, in lesser hands, sounding false or forced. Gill’s gratitude, however, is convincing. His musical backing is vital and full of life. “In the Sweet By and By” is its near-opposite. They have common ground in key areas, of course, but Dolly Parton’s almost crystalline vocal is a stark contrast with the radio-ready snap of the opener.
“Will There Be Any Stars?” shares the same near-ethereal tilt of Parton’s contribution to the collection. It spotlights the talents of The Cox Family and bluegrass vocal legend Alison Krauss. The latter brings her customary upper register magic to bear on a classic lyric. It isn’t surprising, particularly given its subject matter, that the collection opts for a purist approach to bluegrass, but modern production and the musicianship occupy a level that marks each selection as thoroughly current.
The stark poetic beauty of Dailey & Vincent’s “By the Mark” will leave many breathless. Outstanding harmonies are the musical key to the song’s success and stripped-bare arrangement accentuates the lyrics. Bluegrass duos are at their best, for many, when the pair can achieve a seamless sound and they do that here with little apparent effort. We enter the burning heart of the collection after this as award-vocalist Dale Ann Bradley teams with The Issacs for A.P. Carter’s venerable “Working on a Building”. This performance will rank as a highlight for many and only Bradley’s deeply felt vocal matches the exquisite instrumental work.
The Del McCoury Band once again prove their mettle as interpreters of classic bluegrass with their take on another stalwart tune, “I’m Bound for the Land of Canaan”. McCoury has much more of the stereotypical bluegrass vocalist’s accents and overall approach than other performers on this release and the musicianship aspires to the highest possible caliber. Caeland Garner and Balsam Range’s “Walk with Me” has some effective call and response vocals along with the customary harmonies but this is modern bluegrass, traditional music informed by pop and country music influences, but nonetheless immensely entertaining.
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The finale “Walking in Jerusalem (Just Like John)” is a final all-star confection for listeners featuring the talents of Mac Wiseman, The Whites, and Charlie Daniels. The legendary Daniels fills the lyrics with a sort of goofy charisma but it’s fun and he doesn’t slight the material but his occasionally irreverent approach. Country Faith Bluegrass has something for everyone willing to give it a chance. It’s primarily aimed to a specific niche audience, but open-minded music devotees shouldn’t shun it.
Chadwick Easton