The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s latest, “Speed of Life” (Sugar Hill Records) has been out for a little over a week now and is receiving good reviews. This is the Dirt Band’s first recording in 5 years. Make sure and check out the included video for a behind the scenes look at the recording of “Speed Of Life.”

Recorded in Nashville’s Blackbird Studio and produced by legendary recording guru George Massenburg and GRAMMY award winning singer/songwriter Jon Randall Stewart, “Speed of Life” kicks off with Jimmie Fadden’s blistering harmonica on the opening track “Tulsa Sounds Like Trouble to Me,” setting the tone for an album that spans the gamut from the wistful and flawless vocal harmony of “Resurrection” to “Lost In The Pines,” John McEuen’s evocative banjo showpiece. ‘Speed of Life’ features 13 tracks, including new tunes penned by the band (with help from a handful of friends) and two covers: the Woodstock classic “Going Up The Country” and “Stuck In The Middle.” Not to mention a blazing two-step throwback nod to bluegrass progenitor Jimmy Martin, on the aptly named “Jimmy Martin.”

“One of the album’s highlights is the driving “Jimmy Martin,” a biographical song told from the point of view of the King of Bluegrass… The song ends with a poignant observation as “Martin” sings about never becoming a member of the Opry, noting “the circle is still broken/My greatest dream slipped through my hands.” Juli Thanki – The 9513

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Speed of Life" (NGDB Records / Sugar Hill)

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s place among the most innovative artists in American roots music is secure. One of the first to join the disparate scenes of classic old-time and country music with the then nascent California folk-rock movement, the band’s early recordings and collaborations are perhaps the origin of the genre now known as Americana. ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken,’ their 1972 landmark featuring an all-star array of country icons, is rightly considered one of the defining moments in Nashville’s – and America’s – music history, and is now preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. With the second installment of ‘Circle‘ in 1989, the group extended their list of prestigious collaborators and garnered three GRAMMY Awards and the Country Music Association Album of the Year. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are also the recipients of the International Bluegrass Music Association Recorded Event of the Year award and a 2005 Grammy for Country Instrumental Performance (with Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas and the late Vassar Clements).

“Speed of Life” Track Listing:

1. Tulsa Sounds Like Trouble To Me (Shawn Camp / Mark D. Sanders)
2. Brand New Heartache (Jeff Hanna / Donny Lowery)
3. The Resurrection (Matraca Berg / Alice Randall)
4. Somethin’ Dangerous (Bob Carpenter / Tom Kell / Phil Soussan)
5. Going Up The Country (Alan Wilson)
6. Jimmy Martin (Phil Madeira / Jimmie Lee Sloas)
7. Lost In The Pines (John McEuen)
8. Speed of Life (Gary Scruggs)
9. Amazing Love (Bob Carpenter / Jeff Hanna / Tom Kell)
10. Stuck In The Middle (Joe Egan / Gerry Rafferty)
11. Earthquake (Bob Carpenter / John McEuen)
12. Tryin’ To Try (Jimmie Fadden / Guy Clark)
13. It’s Good To Be Alive (Matraca Berg / Troy Verges)

– From Shore Fire Media