It’s been nearly 10 long years since the world has been blessed with a new recording from “The Storyteller,” Tom T. Hall.

Thankfully, with the release of “Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T.,” the wait is finally over. And that decade of silence evidently was worthwhile, as Miss Dixie Hall writes in the liner notes, claiming the new record is “…the crown
jewel of all Tom T. Hall recordings.”

Tom T. and Miss Dixie have always written songs centered around observations of the common man’s life, and this batch of tunes deals with many of the same types of examinations that immortalized characters like Clayton Delaney, The Hitchhiker, and Ravishing Ruby.

Compared to the production of the country hits Hall had in the 70s and 80s, the laid-back and stripped-down instrumentation provided by an all-acoustic (and all-star) band place Tom T.’s strong suits as a songwriter and storyteller squarely at the forefront. Hall’s vocal delivery on the entire album is right on the money with an honesty you only get from an artist who penned the material.

The CD’s supporting cast is among the best in the bluegrass industry. Let’s drop some names: Earl Scruggs, Don Rigsby, Wayne Benson, Mike Bub, Glen Duncan, The Isaacs, Terry Eldridge, Robert Bowlin, Tim White, Randy Kohrs, Kristin Scott Benson and Josh Williams. With those heavyweights, the listener might expect some fireworks, but the instrumental work throughout the CD is totally minus ego. That’s not to say there isn’t some great playing; it’s all over the thing. Bottom line, it’s an exercise of great musicians adding their own master’s touch to support some truly great songs.

This is a “must have” album containing material that will remain timeless. You’ll hear these tunes for many years on the stage and in campground jam sessions at bluegrass festivals everywhere.

Miss Dixie, in summing up the liner notes beckons Tom T., “let’s do a box set.” Let me second that motion and add an amendment: How about a boxed set and a promotional tour that stops in Bean Blossom, Indiana, next June.

by Travis Tackett

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Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie and Tom T.

WPLN, Nashville, Tenn.’s Public Radio Station, is airing at interview with Tom T. and Dixie Hall, generally regarded as the first couple of the bluegrass songwriting realm.

Tom T. Hall found great success in the mid-1960s and ’70s as a country songwriter and award-winning performer. With mainstream country far back in his past, he and his wife are now regarded as top composers in the bluegrass genre. His first new album in 10 years is all bluegrass with a heavyweight supporting cast. (Watch for a review coming soon on BluegrassJournal.com.)

WPLN’s Web site includes an MP3 of the interview as well as a transcript.

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