Longview “Deep in the Mountains” (Rounder)

True-blue bluegrass fanatics, rejoice! Longview is back!

Not just back, but roaring back, soaring back like a shuttle launch in Florida.

Rocket science? You bet. Don Rigsby, an original member of the bluegrass super-group, even sounds a bit like a scientist in discussing the latest Longview project.

“When I’m playing, my goal is to make them all sound good; and that’s their goal, too,” Rigsby comments in a press release announcing the April 8 release of Longview’s “Deep in the Mountains” on the Rounder label. “Because if I can’t make them sound good, they’re not going to be able to make me sound good. That’s just one of the laws; the whole is no greater than the sum of its parts. That’s bluegrass physics.”

Hmmmm, heady stuff, there, Mr. Rigsby. But your theory, your “law,” as you call it, is proven well on every track of “Deep in the Mountains.”

This is Longview’s fourth CD and the first in six years. It features a revised lineup from the original band that included Rigsby, James King, Dudley Connell, Marshall Wilborn, Joe Mullins and Glen Duncan.

The 2008 version has Connell, Mullins and Duncan out of the mix and replaced by J.D. Crowe on banjo, Ron Stewart on fiddle and Lou Reid on guitar.

Crowe follows Rigsby’s line of thinking about the band, but in a less scientific analogy. “You have to have a band sound, be a unit,” he says. “Just like a baseball team, one man can’t win it. And that’s kind of what Longview is all about …”

So much for the philosophy and the hype. How’s the CD sound, you ask? Well, a few one-word descriptions come to mind: Awesome. Powerful. Energized. Terrific.

The band’s lineup leaves little doubt that the instrumentation on “Deep in the Mountains” is going to be top-notch — and it certainly is that. Nobody picks hard-driving, traditional banjo quite like Crowe, and nobody does fill-in and background fiddle licks quite like Ron Stewart. Throw in the factor that Stewart, up until recently, was a member of Crowe’s The New South for quite a few years, and you can guess the magic these two masters yield in the Longview setting.

But the pure joy this band exudes doesn’t lie so much in the instrumentation as it does the vocal work. It’s incredibly good — as good as any version of Longview, maybe even a dollop or two better, with Lou Reid’s voice now part of the formula. Reid takes the lead on the CD’s first cut, “Eating Out of Your Hand;” the old Jim and Jesse tune, “I’ll Love Nobody But You;” and the Louvin Brothers’ “I’m Gonna Love You One More Time.”

Rigsby, with his high-in-the-sky tenor, also steps into the lead vocal role on “Room at the Top of the Stars,” “Old Log Cabin” and “At the First Fall of Snow.”

Then, there’s James King and his powerful, soulful vocals. Where Reid, and even to a greater extent, Rigsby, have that polished, high-lonesome sound, King brings Longview deep down to earth with his dirt-farmer, gritty vocal deliveries. His contrasting style is especially effective on an old Whitey Shafer-Dallas Frazier song, “Baptism of Jesse Taylor.”

The CD has one instrumental, a rousing Ron Stewart arrangement of the old fiddle tune, “Cotton Eyed Joe.” It’s a scorcher.

You can’t help but believe that “Deep in the Mountains” is going to be a huge success. It has the right pickers, the right singers, the right songs. To follow Rigsby’s way of thinking, every element in the handbook of bluegrass physics is here — and in just the right combination.

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Rounder Records will continue their onslaught of bluegrass CD releases with several projects set for release between now and July 19, 2008. Bluegrass All-Star group Longview, Sierra Hull, James King, the Dan Tyminski Band, Dan Paisley & Southern Grass, The Grascals and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper will all see new projects hit the streets over the next 4 months. To listen to Samples from these upcoming records as well as others released on the Rounder label this year visit JukeBoxAlive.com.

Longview
Deep in the Mountains
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Six years have passed since the last recording from bluegrass supergroup Longview, and Deep in the Mountains marks their much-anticipated return. Original members James King, Don Rigsby, and Marshall Wilborn are now joined by J.D. Crowe, Ron Stewart, and Lou Reid, resulting in a potent new lineup with the chops, discipline, and heart required to make the bluegrass tradition come alive. From the first note to the last, Deep in the Mountains is a striking update of the band’s long-held goal: soulful old-school bluegrass with soaring lead singing and riveting three-part harmonies.

Sierra Hull
Secrets
Release Date: May 6, 2008
16-year old Sierra Hull is a rare talent: an artist who combines youthful intensity and energy with a sense of grace and maturity well beyond her years. Secrets, her national debut, features her fluidly, inventive mandolin playing and tender, wistful singing supported by a luminous cast of bluegrass masters. From full-on newgrass instrumentals to eloquent, heart-stopping ballads to playful modern bluegrass, Secrets heralds the arrival of a fresh, important new voice onto today’s bluegrass scene.

James King
Gardens in the Sky: The Bluegrass Gospel of James King
Release Date: May 20, 2008
James King is considered among the leading voices in traditional bluegrass, summoning timeless echoes of Appalachia with a voice that is equally urgent, yearning, and tender. For that reason, this project - his first entirely gospel collection - has been eagerly awaited by his public, whose frequent requests for such an album inspired its release. King’s interpretations of bluegrass gospel classics both vintage and modern are so uniquely suited to the powerful longing and commitment that underpins every note he sings. Gardens in the Sky combines favorites from the James King catalog with performances featured on albums by Paul Williams and Longview, King’s contributions to The Stanley Gospel Tradition CD, and six previously unreleased recordings.

Dan Tyminski Band
Wheels
Release Date: June 17, 2008
One of the most revered artists in bluegrass, Dan Tyminski, will release Wheels this June, Tyminski’s sophomore album as a solo artist and his first effort for Rounder. The thirteen time GrammyÒ Award winner has been enchanting Bluegrass enthusiasts for over fourteen years as the guitarist, lead and harmony vocalist for Alison Krauss and Union Station. His signature hard-edged vocal style is a favorite among critics and peers who have named Tyminski Best Male Vocalist at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards three times. Rolling Stone called Tyminski “one of the genres biggest talents…” and went on to say that “Tyminski helps push bluegrass to the front line.”

Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
The Room Over Mine
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Raised to the strains of classic bluegrass, Dan Paisley and the Southern Grass learned the ropes first-hand as the sons (and eventually bandmates) of such beloved figures as Bob Paisley, Ted Lundy, and Donnie Eldreth. Honed over decades of playing festivals, honky-tonks, Legion halls, and everywhere in between, their sound proudly reflects the timeless bluegrass soul of their fathers - while imparting a razor’s edge intensity all their own. Over the course of his apprenticeship, Danny Paisley’s singing has become proud, fierce, hard-driving, spontaneous, and unafraid to take risks, and when combined with the Southern Grass’s solid base in tradition, the result is a band and an album for the ages.

The Grascals
Keep On Walkin’
Release Date: July 15, 2008
The Grascals are among the most beloved new bluegrass bands of the past five years. Their rise was meteoric: their first album was released in 2005, and in that year they won both IBMA’s Song of the Year (”Me and John and Paul”) and Emerging Artist of the Year awards. In 2006 and 2007 they won the IBMA’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. Keep on Walkin’ is the band’s third album and includes a smart selection of classic, original, and modern songs, including songs made famous by Waylon Jennings (”Only Daddy That Will Walk the Line”) and Merle Haggard (”Today I Started Loving You Again”), along with the bluegrass standard “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and the gospel favorite “Farther Along.” It also includes two songs from the pen of country hitmaker Harley Allen and a guest appearance from Vince Gill, who sings lead and harmony on “Sad Wind Sighs.”

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper debut album!
Release Date: July 29, 2008
The new band founded by five-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year Michael Cleveland, Flamekeeper are determined to put their own unique stamp on high-energy traditional bluegrass, while respecting and honoring the contributions of the music’s forefathers. The band features Cleveland’s fiery, inventive fiddle playing supported by John Mark Batchelor (banjo), Jesse Brock (mandolin), and Marshall Wilborn (bass), with soulful lead vocals from guitarist Todd Rakestraw.

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Burlington, MA  — After six long years, bluegrass super-group Longview returns on April 8 with the release of “Deep in the Mountains” (Rounder). This is the band’s fourth recording, but the first with new members J.D. Crowe, Ron Stewart, and Lou Reid. Deep in the Mountains is a tribute to the music the band loves, from traditional bluegrass from the southern mountains; to the first classic ensembles of Bill Monroe, Jim & Jesse, and the Stanley Brothers; even extending into the newgrass revolution ignited by Crowe’s band, The New South.

Longview was originally meant to be a one-time-only gathering of Don Rigsby, James King, Dudley Connell, Marshall Wilborn, Joe Mullins, and Glen Duncan. They came together at the request of Rounder Records co-founder Ken Irwin, to mark the label’s 25th anniversary. Enchanted by the band’s hot, high-baritone harmonies, he coaxed them into doing a record by calling it his “25th anniversary present to myself.” That was supposed to be the end of it, but the bluegrass world begged to differ. The CD reached the Top 15 on Gavin’s Americana chart, and won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 1998 Recorded Event of the Year and Song of the Year awards.

On Deep in the Mountains, harmonies remain as the centerpiece of Longview. Their signature trio sound remains intact, with Lou Reid ably taking Connell’s place singing tenor on “Old Log Cabin” and Rigsby adding high baritone to “Weathered Grey Stone,” a song written by Connell. King’s wonderfully weather-beaten baritone takes the lead, making the harmony at once visceral and silky – raw and sweet, like wild honey. But then, on “At the First Fall of Snow,” the band delivers the aching tenor harmonies that define the genre’s high, lonesome sound.

At the heart of Longview is an abiding belief that bluegrass is an ensemble music. Banjo player J.D. Crowe, of course, is a bona fide legend, still leading The New South. Ron Stewart (fiddle) is a prolific session musician and a masterful multi-instrumentalist. Guitarist Lou Reid plays with the Seldom Scene, was a founding member of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and a member of Ricky Skaggs’ band. Marshall Wilborn has played bass for the Johnson Mountain Boys, Lynn Morris, and Jimmy Martin. James King is now widely recognized as on of the finest male ballad singers in bluegrass and mandolinist Don Rigsby is a veteran of the New South and Lonesome River Band. “When I’m playing,” Rigsby says, “my goal is to make them all sound good; and that’s their goal, too. Because if I can’t make them sound good, they’re not going to be able to make me sound good. That’s just one of the laws: the whole is no greater than the sum of its parts. That’s bluegrass physics.”

Track Listing:

1. Eating Out of Your Hand
2. Weathered Grey Stone
3. Room at the Top of the Stairs
4. Don’t Leave Me Alone
5. Old Log Cabin
6. Cotton Eyed Joe
7. I’ll Love Nobody but You
8. Baptism of Jesse Taylor
9. I’m Gonna Love You One More Time
10. At the First Fall of Snow
11. I Love You Yet
12. Georgia Bound

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