Art Priebe "When You Smile"

Who in the devil is Art Priebe, I asked myself when his new CD arrived in the mail one day at my house?

Turns out that Priebe, a virtual unknown in the realm of traditional bluegrass circles, is a pretty decent singer and songwriter from that far-off land (at least, far removed from any bluegrass Mecca), Nevada.

When You Smile contains 15 tracks, some of it bluegrass, some not, but all very listenable material. Perhaps as impressive as the end product is Priebe’s prolific songwriting — he single-handedly wrote all but one of the tunes, and he co-wrote the other song.

Priebe has a pleasant baritone voice that excels in delivering ballads and the couple of Western swing offerings on this disc. (See, I told you from the start, this isn’t strictly bluegrass. The swing tunes even employ a full set of drums and electric, pedal steel guitar.)

“When you Smile,” the title cut also opens the CD and provides a good clue that this album is heavy on the ballads. There are several love songs and lost-love songs.

According to his Web site, Priebe is a multi-instrumentalist, but for this project he headed to a big-city studio in Music City, USA, and engaged the services of some pretty heavy-hitting sidemen, including Stuart Duncan, Viktor Krauss, Justin Moses, Aubrey Hainie and Steve Hinson. The result is a very well done, professional-sounding project.

That’s not to say Priebe cheated and simply bought a top-notch recorded project. The guy has talent; for the most part, his song-writing employs thoughtful lyrics and more than a simple three-chord structure. I love Western swing, and his venture into the Bob Wills school of sound is more than enjoyable. In fact, the swing songs just wouldn’t have had the same feel without the fat steel guitar and drums.

Drums, in a simpler version, are also heard on a few other tracks to a mixed effect. On a few cuts, I wondered why producer Jim Sales used a snare drum when a hearty mandolin chop would have done the trick and would have fallen more easily into the bluegrass bin in CD shops.

“Tears on My Violin,” a lover’s lament in a minor key,is a favorite off the CD. It’s also difficult to listen to the swinging “Down at the Orchid Lounge” without tapping your feet and getting a thirst for a long-neck Lone Star. “Trusting in the Lord” shows another side of Priebe that also earns “highlight” honors.

As I started this out, Priebe is not a household name, but this CD shows that he could be — at least in homes where bluegrass and Bob Wills are welcome and frequent visitors.