Old-Time Pickin' A Clawhammer Banjo Collection –
After more than 50 years of pickin' and singing, Dr. Ralph Stanley's legend continues to grow. Stanley is widely renowned for his clawhammer banjo picking, which he picked up as a child in the hills of Virginia. With brother Carter doing most of the singing, they formed a powerful presence in traditional music. It was not until the death of Carter, that Ralph's own vocal prowess began to emerge. »»»
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Billy: The Early Years soundtrack –
Making a movie about Billy Graham is certainly a daunting task. Clearly, Graham is one of the most respected men in the world, whether you agree with his beliefs or not. Yet the creation of this soundtrack looks easy. But as with cooking, great music begins with the best ingredients. And this disc includes many fine singers and songs. Alan Jackson sings the romantic Look At Me »»»
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Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe –
Cherryholmes continues to expand the parameters of bluegrass without crossing over into newgrass territory, while also exhibiting strong songwriting and performances on their third release. Cia Cherryholmes, the 24-year-old banjo player and vocalist for the family band, continues to be the primary focus by writing or co-writing 6 of the 12 original songs and singing 5 of them. »»»
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Kellie Pickler –
At this point, it's a law of television that the results of American Idol are not proportional to post-show success. Past winners are without record contracts, and, among the ranks of former sixth place finishers, Kellie Pickler (aka "Pickles") has gone from waitressing to amassing a handful of pop-country hits at only 22 years old. On her second effort, Pickler spreads her wings beyond vocals to songwriting half the 10 songs. »»»
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Come Darkness, Come Light Twelve Sngs of Christmas –
Try this one at home: Gather a group of friends around the stereo, put Mary Chapin Carpenter's new CD on, and let it play about half way through. Then take a poll, asking what kind of a CD everybody was listening to. And unless your dinner party was listening to the lyrics closely, they wouldn't have a clue that it's a Christmas CD. »»»
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Crossing over –
One of the most surprising music releases to come out this year is Jessica Simpson's "Do You Know." The pop singer claims longstanding affinity for country. Maybe growing up in Texas will do that to you, but heretofore Simpson showed no designs on going country as Alan Jackson might say. Credit Simpson for at least being sincere in her musical offering. There is a semblance of country here (more so than some of the music being released by such "country" acts as Rascal Flatts, for example) thanks probably to producers John Shanks and Brett James in the instrumentation, but "Come On Over" isn't going to make many year-end lists for the best country releases. »»»
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Featured INDIE artist
Album: Between the Whiskey and the Wine
CST's Take: Vintage country sounds and stories - in other words, from-the-heart writing and plenty of pedal steel guitar, just as Webb Pierce intended.
Read more and hear the music
Don't believe it, but Cherryholmes, it takes work –
Cherryholmes took the bluegrass world by storm with their 2005 debut, taking the IBMA entertainer of the year award even though seemingly knew who the heck they were. Now, they're back with their third CD,"Cherryholmes III: Don't Believe," and you better believe changes are apparent for the family band. »»»
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Dan Tyminski takes the wheel –
Eight years in between albums is a long time, but Dan Tyminski has not been sitting idle. His regular night job - playing for Alison Krauss - has kept him plenty busy. But thanks to Krauss and Robert Plant, Tyminski has himself a band, a new CD and tour dates. How's life without Alison? »»»
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What is Heidi Newfield waiting for? –
Just what was Heidi Newfield waiting for? She enjoyed success with the trio Trick Pony, featuring compadres Ira Dean and Keih Burns, with hits like "Pour Me." As time went on, though, she was getting itchy to blaze her own trail. But how does life of the unknown compare to life in a band? »»»
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Crooked Still still crooked –
What do you do when your ace cellist leaves the fold? In the case of Crooked Still, that meant figuring out whether to forge ahead or fold. The result was signing up two new band members - one a Princeton student - for the new CD. But is this still really Crooked Still? »»»
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Michael Cleveland considers "Leavin' Town" –
Michael Cleveland has done quite well for himself in his 27 years. He did stints with Rhonda Vincent and Dale Ann Bradley. And, oh yeah, he's only won fiddler of the year five times from the IBMA. Life's different now, though. Cleveland has an ace band, Flamekeeper, behind him. So, how's life with his new project, which just released their debut CD, "Leavin' Town"? »»»
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Father of the bride, part 2 –
Believe it or not, I do try not to let this column get too personal, but since my column asking for help on a song for the father-daughter dance at my little girl's wedding drew such a great response, I hope I will be forgiven for doing a follow-up. First of all, I want to say thank you very much to all of those who took the time to respond with a song suggestion or just a "Good luck to the newlyweds." All much appreciated. »»»
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