DISClaimer Single Reviews (5/04/11)

Charlie Sizemore

It’s high time we checked in with country music’s kissin’ cousins in bluegrass.

A look at the current Bluegrass Unlimited chart shows that there are lots and lots of new faces popping up with popular tunes. Alongside the field’s superstars such as Rhonda Vincent, Alison Krauss and Peter Rowan are a number of up-and-comers. In fact, there are several on the BU chart who are there with debut CDs, including The Boxcars, who win this column’s DisCovery Award.

Lonesome River Band is still doing excellent work. Balsam Range is demonstrating promised fulfilled with its second outing. The amazing and legendary Bobby Osborne can still lift the top of your skull off.

But for sheer vocal class, superb instrumental backing and superior song selection, you simply cannot beat Middle Tennessean Charlie Sizemore. He has the peerless Disc of the Day. If you buy just one bluegrass platter, this is absolutely the One.

JUNIOR SISK & RAMBLERS CHOICE/Train Without a Track
Writer: Tom T. Hall/Dixie Hall; Producer: Wes Easter & Ramblers Choice; Publisher: Good Home Grown Music, BMI; Rebel (track) (www.juniorsiskandramblerschoice.com)
—This tune is perched at No. 1 on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart. Junior is a big ol’ boy with a big ol’ tenor voice, and he uses it well on this uptempo, busted-heart tune. His Heartaches and Dreams CD actually has two songs on the chart, the other being the scampering “Working Hard Ain’t Hardly Working Anymore.”

LONESOME RIVER BAND/Record Time Machine
Writer: Marvin E. Clark; Producer: Lonesome River Band; Publisher: Whoville, BMI; Rural Rhythm (track) (www.lonesomeriverband.com)
—I’m a big fan of this band. Its flawless harmony singing and deft instrumental work simply flow over this nostalgic song about the sounds from an old phonograph record player. The evocative performance is lodged at No. 2 on BU’s chart. The Still Learning CD also includes covers of Merle Haggard’s “Red Bandana” and Mel Tillis’s “Goodbye Wheeling” done bluegrass style.

BALSAM RANGE/Trains I Missed
Writer: Walt Wilkins/Gilles Godard/Nicole Witt; Producer: Balsam Range; Publisher: Garage Door/Mike Curb/Curb Congregation, BMI/SESAC; Mountain Home (track) (www.balsamrange.com)
—In the No. 3 slot is the title tune of the second album by Balsam Range. It’s a perfectly lovely, mellow, lilting performance. Lead singer Buddy Melton has a heart-tugging, folkie quality that I find immensely appealing. The band’s instrumental chops are also outstanding.

STEVE GULLEY & TIM STAFFORD/How Did That Turn Into My Problem
Writer: Tim Stafford/Steve Gulley; Producer: Steve Gulley & Tim Stafford; Publisher: Daniel House/Gulley’s Curve, BMI; Rural Rhythm (track) (www.ruralrhythm.com)
—This team cowrote all the songs on their Dogwood Winter CD. This wry, bitter, bluesy ditty is a top-10 success in the bluegrass world.

BRAND NEW STRINGS/Merry Go Round
Writer: Alan Johnston; Producer: Steve Gulley; Publisher: Weaver of Words, BMI; Rural Rhythm (track) ()
—This new band is on the BU chart with this snarky, zippy performance. Vocally, Brand New Strings has that classic, pinched, nasal, high-lonesome sound. Hard core hillbilly.

THE BOXCARS/December 13th
Writer: William Keith Garrett; Producer: The Boxcars; Publisher: Setacoo, BMI; Mountain Home (track) (www.theboxcars.com)
—The Boxcars are also new on the scene, although several of its members have had high profiles in other bands. Lead singer Garrett has a real flair for story telling, based on this debut bluegrass hit by the group. Murder with a banjo beat.

FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN/Driftin’ Apart
Writer: Frank Solivan; Producer: Frank Solivan & Brent Truitt; Publisher: Fiddlemon, BMI; Fiddlemon (track) (www.dirtykitchenband.com)
—Lead singer and mandolinist Solivan wrote all but three of the songs on his band’s third album for his indie Fiddlemon imprint. This lickety-split outing features his strong tenor singing plus dazzling banjo runs by Mike Munford.

VALERIE SMITH/Blame it on the Bluegrass
Writer: Elizabeth Shrum/Becky Buller; Producer: Becky Buller; Publisher: Goodnight Sparky, BMI; Bell Buckle (track) (www.valeriesmithonline.com)
—As her label name indicates, Ms. Smith is a native of Bell Buckle, TN, which is southwest of Murfreesboro. She’s one of the up-and-coming female voices in bluegrass because of her yearning delivery. The lonesome sound of the title tune to her current, six-song collection comes largely from her emotional vocal plus the fiddling of producer and co-writer Buller. The CD is the first to be recorded at the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro, KY.

CHARLIE SIZEMORE/No Lawyers in Heaven
Writer: Paul Craft/Billy Edd Wheeler; Producer: Charlie Sizemore; Publisher: Paul Craft/Dennis Morgan/Blue Duck, BMI/ASCAP; Rounder (track) (www.charliesizemoreband.com)
—Sizemore IS a lawyer, which makes this all the more delightful. The dobro of Matt DeSpain drawls right along with Charlie’s tongue-in-cheek delivery of this divorce ditty. If this ain’t a hit, I’ve never heard one. It’s a track from his Heartache Looking for Home album, which I heartily recommend.

BOBBY OSBORNE & PATTY LOVELESS/Memories
Writer: Bobby Osborne; Producer: Glen Duncan, Bobby Osborne & Bobby Osborne Jr.; Publisher: Sure Fire, BMI; Rural Rhythm (track) (www.ruralrhythm.com)
—This is the title tune of a CD that celebrates Bobby’s 60th anniversary as a professional entertainer. At age 79 (80 in December), this Bluegrass Hall of Famer still has a breath-taking, pitch-perfect, arrow-of-truth tenor delivery. Fellow Grand Ole Opry star Patty packs a punch as his harmony foil, too. In a word, awesome.