Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass “The Room Over Mine” (Rounder) lands June 24.

Some things meet expectations — and that’s a good thing.

So it is with “The Room Over Mine,” the first Rounder Records CD for Dan Paisley and the Southern Grass. It has a street release date of June 24.

Carrying on a tradition started by his late father, Paisley is about as blue and grassy as it gets. He’s a mixture of high lonesome and low-down, moan-in-your-beer blues. And, the entire gamut is nicely displayed on this release.

Paisley played with his dad’s band, Bob Paisley and The Southern Grass, for several years before his dad’s passing in 2004. The senior Paisley had performed bluegrass for half a century, including 25 years leading his own band. Son Dan joined Southern Grass when he was only 15. So, it was a given — and a natural — that he carried the group’s torch after Bob Paisley’s death.

“The Room Over Mine” showcases perhaps one of the hardest-driving traditional bands wandering the festival circuit these days. There’s no holding back when Dan Paisley and his very capable band take to the stage — and that’s how this CD comes off. It’s in your face.

The CD contains a couple of cool, fun tunes –”I’m Leaving Detroit”and “Raising Cain in Texas,” the classic “The Convict and the Rose,” and hot instrumental licks all along the way (my favorite is “Sweet Potato Rag). It also has great renditions of a couple of nearly forgotten country ballads — Porter Wagoner’s hit, “I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name,” and a one-time winner for Jimmy Dickens’ “Another Bridge to Burn.” Maybe it’s just the incredible soulful vocal delivery, but these two ballads really won me over. And, it’s tough to take a pass on the old Marty Robbins tune, “At the End of a Long, Lonely Day.”

The lineup on the CD is essentially Paisley’s road band, including brother Michael on bass, brothers TJ Lundy on fiddle and Bob Lundy on banjo, and Donnie Eldreth on mandolin.

The Lundys and Paisleys share a long history of making music together. Their fathers played together for years, and the Paisley boys and Lundy boys performed together when they were youngsters.

Paisley doesn’t shift far away from the formula he’s uses on stage and in past projects. He evidentally believes there’s still room in today’s diverse bluegrass marketplace for the traditional sounds. Rounder Records apparently shares that belief — and we all benefit. “The Room Over Mine” is the real deal.

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Heather Berry & Tony Mabe “Before Bluegrass” (Blue Circle Records)

What a hoot that must have been for the Halls to come up with some new lyrics and melodies that sound like they came right out of the Bristol Sessions. Any CD is only as good as its songs, and the Halls really wrote some dandies for Heather Berry & Tony’s “Before Bluegrass.” This is your basic, three-chord compositions and many sound like they could be found in the Carter Family songbook. One, “Hound Dog Blues,” is a faithful clone of Jimmy Rodgers’ classic blue yodels.

Since this is “Before Bluegrass,” you would be correct in assuming that Scruggs-style banjo is not heard on this CD. Instead, there’s a lot of tastefully done clawhammer style that Mabe plays on on several tracks. Both Berry and Mabe also play the autoharp.

The artists explain in the liner notes that everything was recorded live — just the two of them making “parlor music.” No overdubs, no punching in and out, no electronic pitch correction and no effects. Just music — recorded as it was performed. (As in, sitting in your parlor.)

Both have been around music and the music business for several years. According to the Web site, heatherberrymusic.com, “at the age of 12 years old Heather started to perform with groups such as the Lewis Family, Charlie Waller & the Country Gentlemen, and the Easter Brothers. Over time she recorded several projects including a tribute to Waller.”

Mabe was born and raised in Walnut Cove, N.C. “His love for music began at the early age of 4 years old when he started playing Southern Gospel style piano,” according to the Web site.

“Now at the age of 20, his instrumental abilities include banjo, upright bass, guitar, mandolin, autoharp and piano. He says that his biggest influences are Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, Jimmy Mills, Allan Shelton, and Mother Maybelle Carter.

“Tony’s played for former bluegrass boy and legend Bobby Atkins and the Countrymen (when he was only 14 years old) and also with Blue Circle recording artist, the Jeanette Williams Band.”

Heather and Tony, married for about a year, have voices that are a perfect mold for their “parlor-music” trip back in time. Her’s is sweet as that proverbial dew on the rose; his is just rough and rustic enough to make one give praise there’s no room for vocal coaches in this wonderful style of music.

In a nutshell, “Before Bluegrass” and its newly wed performers are a charming fit.

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The Dan Tyminski Band releases their much anticipated CD, “Wheels,” on the Rounder Label today, June 17.

So, what do you do when you have a great job and the boss lady hangs it up?

If you’re Dan Tyminski, you start back at Square One — in a way. Not that his boss lady — that would be Alison Krauss — hung it up by any stretch of the imagination. She’s out and about these days with Robert Plant, touring on behalf of their smash CD. She told her band — the famed Union Station — that it would be on a year’s hiatus.

This evidentally gave Tyminksi an opening to spread his wings with a new incarnation of the Dan Tyminski Band. The group didn’t take long to head into the studio. Its new CD, “Wheels,” will be released on the Rounder label today, June 17.

This new edition includes longtime Union Station associate Barry Bales (bass), former Union Station and Mountain Heart member Adam Steffey (mandolin), sideman extraordinaire Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle), and newcomer Justin Moses (fiddle, dobro).

It’s difficult to not like the warmth of Tyminski’s vocals and the Southern drawl he serves with them — and for cryin’ out loud, where did that Dixie diction come from? This guy grew up in Vermont, not Appalachia.

“Wheels” provides several great vehicles for Tyminski’s style — from the straight ahead bluegrass of “I Ain’t Taking You Back No More” and “How Many times” to great insightful, contemporary ballads like “How Long Is This Train?” and “Making Hay.”

“Wheels” provides several great vehicles for Tyminski’s style from straight ahead bluegrass to great insightful, contemporary ballads

And yes, one kickin’ instrumental, “Knock Knock,” which truly showcases the generous amount of talent that’s assembled around Tyminski. I’ve been a big admirer of Ron Stewart’s fiddle work with J.D.Crowe the past few years. He seemed to become the master of the fill lick with the New South. The advance copy of the CD didn’t specify who was playing fiddle on specific tracks, but there’s a fair share of Stewart-like sounds in the fiddle work here. Steffey turns in some dazzling licks as does Moses with some outstanding dobro work.

Alison Krauss, undoubtedly, will return to the bluegrass fold and once again summon her Union Station sidemen back into action. In the meantime, Tyminski and company aren’t wasting time. They’ve created a fine piece of work with “Wheels.”

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The Infamous Stringdusters - “The Infamous Stringdusters” (Sugar Hill Records)

The Infamous Stringdusters stunned the bluegrass world at last years IBMA awards. The ‘Dusters, you might recall, took home the awards for Emerging Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and they also recorded the IBMA’s “Song of the Year” which was the title track from Fork in the Road, their debut on Sugar Hill Records. Not to bad for a band who at the time had a single CD to their credit.

On the group’s second release, the self-titled The Infamous Stringdusters, the band delivers a set of material that coalesces a near perfect balance of traditional bluegrass sensibility, newgrass’s aversion to the norm and jamgrass’s explorative instrumentation.

The band’s song-writing abilities are at the heart of the project. Members of the band wrote or co-wrote nine of the CD’s thirteen songs. Personal standouts on the CD include: Travis Book’s “Won’t Be Coming Back,” “You Can’t Handle The Truth” (co-written with Tim Stafford & Benny Galloway) and “Bound For Tennessee” along with Jesse Cobb’s “Golden Ticket,” an instrumental which feels like a tip of the hat to New Grass Revival who paved the way for this fork in the road if you will.

“Three Days in July” by John Weisenberger & Mark Simos, “I Wonder” by John Pennell (co-writer on “Fork in the Road) & Jeff White, “Get it While You Can” by Edward D. Barnes and Sarah Siskind’s “Lovin’ You” are the cover tunes on the album.

The Infamous Stringdusters are Travis Book (bass), Jesse Cobb (mandolin), Andy Falco (guitar), Jeremy Garrett (Fiddle), Andy Hall (dobro) and Chris Pandolfi (banjo).

The Infamous Stringdusters also feature a triple threat in the vocal department with three very capable lead singers. Jeremy Garrett, Travis Book and Andy Hall trade off on lead vocal duties throughout the CD and the diversity makes an already great album that much more interesting to listen to.

Travis Book’s “Won’t Be Coming Back,” a song about leavin’ home to find your way in life, pretty much sums up The Infamous Stringdusters musically speaking. A lot of respect and reverance for tradition and a strong desire to explore and bring something new to the music.

On this release, The Infamous Stringdusters prove “Fork in the Road” wasn’t beginner’s luck. While the music on “The Infamous Stringdusters” looks  forward… to the future of bluegrass, There’s more than plenty of respect and tradition alive in the instrumentation and spirit of the music.

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Adcock, Gaudreau, Waller & Gray - The Country Gentlemen Reunion Band (RadioTherapy Records)

It’s nothing short of amazing that the landmark bluegrass band, The Country Gentlemen, has been around for half a century. It’s equally difficult to fathom the huge impact the group has had on bluegrass as we know it today.

From the outset, the Gents didn’t mirror the Deep South roots of Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers or Flatt and Scruggs. They were cut from a different mold.

A bit of insight into the famous band’s past and an exclamation point on the group’s indelible stamp on an American form of music are both offered on a new CD, “Adcock, Gaudreau, Waller and Gray: The Country Gentlemen Reunion Band.”

The group includes two original members — banjo picker and guitarist Eddie Adcock and bass player Tom Gray. Joining them are Jimmy Gaudreau on mandolin and Randy Waller on guitar. Gaudreau was the Gentlemen’s second mandolin player who replaced John Duffey and Waller is the son of the late Charlie Waller, perhaps the Gentlemen’s perfect Gent.

Eddie Adcock and his wife/musical partner Martha are listed as both producers and executive producers. The CD is on the RadioTherapy Records label.

This CD will offer great memories and pleasure to longtime fans of the Gentlemen, and I’d bet it will be embraced by the new crop of bluegrassers. It has an incredibly strong song lineup and some pretty darn good picking to boot.

Adock, ever the crochity old warrior, shows age has treated him like fine wine with his prowess on banjo. He comes across smooth and strong throughout the tracks, but never more so than on the old classic, “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Yep, Eddie can still cook. Gaudreau takes his turn in the spotlight with an original instrumental, “El Doggo,” which also includes fine supporting licks from Adcock and Waller.

I wouldn’t dare to be the judge to determine “bluegrass” or “non-bluegrass.” All I care to say is this: My ears are pleased and I smile a lot when listening to this CD.

I caught The Gentlemen at a festival only months before Charlie Waller died. It was my first live exposure to this group, and I’ll have to say, as frail as Charlie Waller seemed on stage that day, it was easy to see that entertaining the crowd in front of him was priority No. 1. Failing health had to take a back seat for the two, 45-minute sets he did. A year later, after Charlie Waller’s passing, I caught Randy Waller’s reincarnation of the group. Perhaps that first impression I got a year earlier left a strong mark on my memory, but I wasn’t impressed.

Fast foward a few years to this new CD, and I offer an olive branch to Randy Waller, whose vocals are to be commended on the reunion project. They, indeed, are Gentlemen-like.

The CD’s 13 songs obviously were carefully chosen to reflect the true flavor of the Gentlemen. There’s the off-the-wall stuff, like “El Doggo;” a bit of country, including Merle Haggard’s “White Line Fever;” and just a bunch of tunes that simply sound like old friends.

Martha Adcock sums the entire aura around the Gentlemen of yesterday and this newest version on the CD in her very eloquent liner notes:

“‘It’s good, but it ain’t bluegrass’ is what they said 50 years ago …but folks who know bluegrass music know that the ‘Classic’ Country Gentlemen are a big reason why bluegrass sounds the way it does today.”

I wouldn’t dare to be the judge to determine “bluegrass” or “non-bluegrass.” All I care to say is this: My ears are pleased and I smile a lot when listening to this CD.

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