Dailey & Vincent - Rounder Records

Here comes Santa Claus? No, here comes the hype. And more hype. And even more hype — not about Santa, but about Dailey & Vincent and their debut CD, which Rounder Records will release Jan. 29.

Well, here’s a case where hype has nothing to do with political spin — or even Santa Claus. The hype isn’t even hype; it’s honest-to-goodness chest-beating.

“Dailey & Vincent,” the self-titled CD, is the real deal. I mean, it’s really, really, really the real deal — dead-on bluegrass that smokes, a slight touch of classic country that soothes, some pretty heavy gospel messages that make one pause and reflect. It’s all here in one package.

In fact, my first listen to the tracks produced a guilty feeling for ever thinking all the hype was just so much hype.

“Dailey & Vincent,” the new kids on the bluegrass circuit, are no strangers to their audience. Jamie Dailey spent nearly a decade in the spotlight with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Darrin Vincent’s last decade has been spent with Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder. They’re no kids, but seasoned pros — and it shows on all 12 songs on their self-produced CD.

People who are becoming fans of the group before the duo even officially hits the road are going to have a melt-down over the CD’s vocal efforts.

It should be said from the outset that Dailey and Vincent hold nothing — absolutely nothing — back with their vocal efforts on this CD. People who are becoming fans of the group before the duo even officially hits the road are going to have a melt-down over the CD’s vocal efforts. They are tops, bar none, with the kind of high, crystal clear harmonies that produce goose-bumps and threaten to crack fine glassware.

The CD opens with a real barn-burner, “Sweet Carrie,” that has the project starting out in overdrive. But, then the tempo and the mood change dramatically, with the old Statler Brothers tune, “More Than a Name on a Wall,” one of two songs on the CD written by former Statler, Jimmy Fortune.

The other fortune from Fortune (sorry, it just lends itself) is “I Believe,” a powerful and moving gospel song.

Rounder’s promotional material also singles out another cut, “Place on Calvary,” written by Langdon Reid that the Statlers recorded in 2002 and performed during their farewell concert. The CD, Rounder publicists point out, is full of Statler influences.

The Dailey Vincent Band photo by Paul Wharton

I’ll grant Rounder’s writers their dues on the Statlers’ influence on “More Than a Name on the Wall.” Beyond that cut, however, I keep hearing a lot of Louvin Brothers harmonies on many of the cuts, perhaps a slight touch of the Skaggs/Tony Rice influence on a couple of songs that use only guitar and mandolin for backup.

Dailey gets songwriting credits on two songs on the CD — “My Savior Walks With Me Today,” which he wrote with his old boss, Doyle Lawson; and “Poor Boy Workin’ Blues,” a solo writing effort.

The musicianship comes close to matching the stellar vocal work. This duo leaned on the core of their newly selected road band as well as some of bluegrass’s top pickers to support them. Road band members on the project are Jeff Parker, a bluegrass veteran on mandolin, and Joe Dean, only 18, on banjo. Dailey plays guitar and Vincent, bass, guitar and mandolin.

Others in the supporting cast are Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Andy Leftwich and Cody Kilby.

We feel fortunate to have an advance copy of “Dailey & Vincent.” It’s a great, early Christmas gift. If you can’t wait until the Jan. 29 release, Rounder has some teaser sound clips on its Web site. Note, I said “teasers,” not “hype.”

My rating on this CD? I’ll give it a KB-12, Killer Bluegrass on all 12 tracks.

- Dan Tackett

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Editor’s note: We’ve met and visited with a lot of wonderful people in the bluegrass world in the past few years, and especially in the last six months that we’ve been involved in our Web site. We asked a handful of some memorable people we’ve visited with over the past year and invited them to share a bluegrass Christmas memory. Although we didn’t meet Darin Vincent on the circuit this year, we’re looking forward to crossing his path, along with his new singing partner Jamie Dailey, in the months ahead. In the meantime, both heard about our holiday project and were gracious enough to offer a holiday reflection. You can Read Jamie Dailey’s here.

Darrin Vincent

I remember as a child waking up early, before dawn, knowing that Santa had come. We’d tear open the gifts and leave paper strewn all over the living room. Then we would all get dressed and head over to my grandparents’ house to have more Christmas. I remember having breakfast there. My Grandma Helen (Thompson) could really cook, and I loved her gravy and bacon.

The other memory I have is the Vincent family Christmas, where we would all gather at Grandma Erma’s house two doors down, and have a big dinner and open up presents. There we would draw names, and I always wanted the western outfit, with guns, holsters, caps that made a noise, hat, vest, chaps–the whole thing. And Aunt Irene always had the best-looking wrapping paper. Those times were precious.

Today I love being home with my wife Julie and our three children, seeing them get excited about the tree, the decorations and the lights, and participating in our church plays every year.

It’s also a sad time for me and my wife, because Julie’s father passed away on December 22 when she was just 16. She still misses her daddy, and every Christmas it’s hard for her. I’m grateful my parents are still with me, even though I don’t see them as often as I should. Greatest of all, we celebrate the birthday of our savior Jesus who is the real reason we have Christmas.

-Darrin Vincent of Dailey & Vincent

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Editor’s note: We’ve met and visited with a lot of wonderful people in the bluegrass world in the past few years, and especially in the last six months that we’ve been involved in our Web site. We asked a handful of some memorable people we’ve visited with over the past year and invited them to share a bluegrass Christmas memory. Although we didn’t meet Jamie Dailey on the circuit this year, we’re looking forward to crossing his path, along with his new singing partner Darrin Vincent, in the months ahead. In the meantime, both heard about our holiday project and were gracious enough to offer a holiday reflection. You can read Darrin Vincent’s Christmas Memories here.

Jamie Dailey

One of my fondest memories of Christmas as a child was decorating our home the day after Thanksgiving. We would start on the outside. We lived on a hill above a beautiful lake, with surrounding hills and a huge bridge off in the distance that crossed the lake that fed into the Cumberland River. My dad and I would put up hundreds of lights all over the hillside and around the plank fence that went around our five acres of land. When it got dark we lit up the house and land, and you could see traffic literally stopping on the bridge across the lake as they looked at our lights. After that we went inside to help my mother put up decorations.

On Christmas day it was time to see what Santa had brought and to see if he had eaten the cookies we had left! Then Mama had Christmas dinner ready around 4:00 or so, something we still do. I loved every minute of it and still do!

I have continued the tradition of decorating and going all out at Christmas time. This year my family and I will celebrate Christmas in my new home in Brentwood, Tennessee. Everyone coming in town to visit is staying all night on Christmas Eve. I can’t wait!

Jamie S. Dailey
Dailey & Vincent

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