The Grascals Set New Album Release
03/03/2010
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The Grascals, one of bluegrass music's most highly awarded and acclaimed bands, will release their brand new CD, The Famous Lefty Flynn's, on Rounder Records March 30, just a few days before the band hits the road as a part of Hank Williams Jr.'s Rowdy Friends Tour, an opportunity that will showcase bluegrass music to tens of thousands of music fans. As a guest on the CD, Williams also joins the band for a quintessential country/bluegrass version of "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome," written by his dad, Hank Williams, and the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe.
Known for their seamless harmonies, soaring trios and stellar instrumental talents, The Grascals rose to critical acclaim in 2005 when they won Emerging Artist of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. This was only the beginning as they catapulted to the top of their genre, being named 2006 and 2007 Entertainers of the Year the following two years. The Boston Globe said, "DJs rhapsodize about The Grascals as though they were the second coming of Bill Monroe. The hype machine is at full throttle, but the Grascals justify every scrap of it
astonishing instrumentalists."
This Grammy nominated, Dove nominated group takes another stride forward on this, their 4th album. Vocally, the trio of Terry Eldredge, Jamie Johnson and Terry Smith are tighter than ever, cutting loose on driving solo vocals and soaring trios with equal fire and passion.
The Grascals have never sounded sharper as an instrumental unit, with mandolin ace Danny Roberts, fiddler Jeremy Abshire and new banjo player Kristin Scott Benson leading the charge. As a result, The Famous Lefty Flynn's features cutting-edge modern bluegrass delivered with a deep knowledge of and admiration for the work of the music's founding fathers. Timely yet timeless, The Grascals make music that is entirely relevant to the here and now, yet immersed in traditional values of soul and musicianship. It's a unique sound that has earned two of their previous releases, The Grascals (2005) and Long List of Heartaches (2006) Grammyฎ nominations for Best Bluegrass Album.
The Famous Lefty Flynn's kicks off with start-to-finish three-part harmonies featured in a rousing cover of "Last Train to Clarksville." The energy doesn't let up as Terry Eldredge takes the lead in the infectious, fast-paced "Son of a Sawmill Man" a straight-ahead bluegrass tune with room for solos by Kristin Scott Benson (banjo), Danny Roberts (mandolin), and Jeremy Abshire (fiddle). The ballad "Satan and Grandma" follows, a powerful testimony to the strength of a righteous grandmother conveyed with perfect emotion by Jamie Johnson.
The life-affirming "Everytime" features Terry Eldridge, and reminds us of new possibilities and adventures that could be just ahead. Like an old-time folk song, "Out Comes the Sun" paints a mysterious, foreboding picture of a lover. Terry Eldredge, with the help of a bass interlude by Terry Smith, sets just the right chilling mood with this one. The instrumental "Blue Rock Slide" keeps that old-time bluegrass spirit front and center in a more upbeat way with solos and instrumental interplay in abundance.
The title track, written by Jamie Johnson and Morry Trent, is a story song, an outlaw's tale, delivered convincingly by Terry Eldridge. Another Grascals original, "My Baby's Waiting on the Other Side" (Johnson, Smith, Roberts) with Jamie Johnson singing lead, is a barn-burner, fueled by precise three-part harmony and solos on fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin. Steve Earle's "My Old Friend the Blues" follows with its easy-going irony. The bluesy spirit continues with the two Terrys joining Jamie for the choruses of the wistful but sprightly "Up This Hill and Down." To close out the album, Jamie Johnson sings lead in the uplifting "Give Me Jesus."
Song Titles from The Famous Lefty Flynn's
Rounder 11661-0641-2
1. Last Train to Clarksville 2:58
2. Son of a Sawmill Man 2:33
3. Satan and Grandma 3:34
4. Everytime 2:32
5. Out Comes the Sun 3:09
6. Blue Rock Slide 4:17
7. The Famous Lefty Flynn's 2:52
8. My Baby's Waiting on the Other Side 2:37
9. My Old Friend the Blues 2:20
10. Up This Hill and Down 2:41
11. I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome - with Hank Williams Jr. 2:54
12. Give Me Jesus 2:46
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