Aural Fixations

THE GIBSON BROTHERS
Bona Fide
(Sugar Hill)
AUBREY HAYNIE
The Bluegrass Fiddle Album
(Sugar Hill)
RANDY HOWARD
I Rest My Case
(Sugar Hill)
RICKY SKAGGS & KENTUCKY THUNDER
Live at the Charleston Music Hall
(Skaggs Family)
BRYAN SUTTON
Bluegrass Guitar
(Sugar Hill)
The success of the soundtrack for the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? put bluegrass in the center of the pop culture mix for perhaps the first time in its existence. Suddenly soccer moms and teenagers were catching on the joys of percussion-less music made with mandolins, banjos and high mountain harmonies. It didn't last, of course—by the time public television instituted a series of bluegrass-themed pledge specials the style's popularity was already waning—but it did engender higher profiles for genre veterans like Alison Krauss & Union Station, the Del McCoury Band and the venerable Ralph Stanley, who are merely the tip of the iceberg. Even though the spotlight is no longer trained on one of American music's oldest art forms, there are still plenty of quality musicians with their hearts in Kentucky and their fingers on banjo frets. Herewith is a roundup of recent bluegrass records that deserve to be heard.

The Gibson Brothers continue in the long tradition of brother acts in bluegrass with their fourth album Bona Fide. On this set of mostly original songs, guitarist Leigh, banjoist Eric and their cohorts keep the traditional flames burning while stoking new fires. Leigh's "Railroad Line" pays tribute to the railway workers that have captivated bluegrassers for a century, while Eric's "Arlene" and a cover of Tom T. Hall's "Don't Forget the Coffee, Billy Joe" revolve around that timeless 'grass theme of family. "That Bluegrass Music," co-written by both Gibson sibs and bassist Mike Barber, salutes the stuff that gives their souls wings. "Beautiful Brown Eyes" and the instrumental "Shucking the Corn" (which features barnburning performances from Eric and mandolinist Mike MacGlashan) fatten the portfolio of that old songwriting rascal "traditional," while "The Lighthouse," featuring Gibson sister Erin on vocals, sings the gospel. Eric's "Whisper in My Ear" ponders a partner's infidelity, while his "Where Nobody Knows My Name" details the consequences of same. But the Gibsons add their own twists to the familiar. Eric's "Vern's Guitar" looks at a beloved instrument in the hands of a paralyzed man; "Ragged Man," co-written by the brothers, comes from the point of view of a homeless man, and concerns revenge against his sibling the "golden boy." Leigh's "The Open Road" is basically the bluegrass version of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." The modern takes fit right in with the traditional ones; after all, the Gibsons are contemporary musicians and human beings, and have no problem integrating the old and the new. Besides, their brotherly harmonies help sweeten any bitter medicine they might be spooning, and the band's musicianship is impeccable. The Gibson Brothers may have been bred in upstate New York, but Bona Fide proves these boys have Kentucky in their blood.

Aubrey Haynie is one of those bluegrass prodigies who start winning fiddle contests as kids before going on to successful session and solo careers (see: Mark O'Connor, who not coincidentally mentored Haynie). The Bluegrass Fiddle Album, his third solo release, is an unabashed celebration of the art of mountain fiddling. Backed by Alison Krauss bassist Barry Bales, banjoist David Talbot and acoustic music heavyweights Tony Rice and Sam Bush on guitar and mandolin, Haynie presents an easygoing set of originals, traditionals and tunes by legendary Bill Monroe bow-wielder Kenny Baker. The thing that makes Haynie stand out in a crowded field is his devotion to the melody; his soulful bowing backs away from the grandstanding that often accompanies this kind of showcase in favor of clean, lyrical lines that never let you forget that you're listening to songs, not set-ups. The back-up players match his relaxed performances, particularly Bush, who shines here. Cuts like "April's Reel," "Bluegrass in the Backwoods" and "Buckner's Breakdown" quicken the pulse without burning up the fretboards, while ballads like "McHattie's Waltz" and "Make a Little Boat" celebrate dreamier moods.(more)

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