When you have as illustrious a career as Dale Ann Bradley, there’s only so much you can do to keep things feeling fresh. From the time her first album was released over twenty years ago to her most recent project only dropping last year and the ten spaced out in between with another new one on the way, it’s hard to catch your breath — heck, I’m feeling winded just typing it all out! Luckily, Bradley seems pretty set in her routine, and her latest single, a cover of the Kitty Wells and Red Foley 1950s country track “One By One,” feels for all intents and purposes like a natural next step forward. Joined by fellow IBMA “Vocalist of the Year” winner Danny Paisley, this is a single that seems primed for the big leagues, and if the International Bluegrass Music Awards have anything to say about it, it will be.
Acting as the first single for Dale Ann Bradley’s upcoming, as-of-yet-untitled new LP, “One By One” delivers yet another classic country track by giving one of her best performances so far, ensuring marketability to those both familiar and not with the Wells/Foley single. Bringing in Paisley acts as the song’s secret ingredient as his low, honey-sweet vocals complement Bradley’s perfectly, and the two effectively make musical magic together as they put down a version of a classic track that pays homage to the original and fully surpasses expectations in regards to any modern remake.
Listening to Bradley sing on “One By One,” it’s no wonder that she’s had two Grammy nominations thrown her way — the ear for melodic bluegrass instrumentation meshes impeccably with her serene vocal performance, and she has a knack and passion for the stuff. If you’ve been working on something for two decades, I guess you’d better! Bradley’s talent pays off with every new single and album, and this latest duet is a real showstopper entry in her musical career. Giving time to put enough heart and soul into a cover track that doesn’t just give you an expected, down-the-middle cover is rare these days, but thankfully Bradley and Paisley arrive dead-set on putting the idea of a lazy cover song to rest.
Overall, “One By One” sets a high mark for whatever Dale Ann Bradley decides to release next, and calling her shot this intently could be seen as near-sighted if not for her historic run of albums. Fans new and old should rest assured that Dale Ann Bradley and Danny Paisley are absolute pros when it comes to doing country music right, and “One By One” only cements their status as artists you can trust in regards to doing modern country and bluegrass with an emphasis on what has come before. Bradley functions as a musician with one foot in the present and one adamantly in the past, and her fans are all the luckier for it; ensuring a core quality check against not only her influences but the forces that have shaped popular bluegrass and country as a whole will always work in her favor, and will only lead to more incredible reimagining’s in the same vein as her take on “One By One.”
Claire Uebelacker