The fourteen song collection Country Faith Bluegrass gathers a raft of the best bluegrass interpreters working in music today. The album title clearly indicates the release’s overarching theme, songs expressing religious faith/belief in some fashion, but anyone holding their breath will be relieved to know it isn’t a divisive effort. Even non-believers will recognize and enjoy the peerless songwriting prowess and musicality exhibited on each of the album tracks. The superlative instrumental interplay is more stripped-back on some tracks than others. A commonality among the album’s songs, however, is how the musical package smooths over any discord listeners experience with its subject matter.
Vince Gill starts things off with his original song “All Prayed Up”. The brisk pacing set by this track is the right start for Country Faith Bluegrass and there’s no sense of Gill rushing the performance. It’s a popular live number for the talented Gill and fits in well with the other songs on this collection. “In the Sweet By and By” is a never before heard all-star effort with Dolly Parton’s exquisite vocal out in front. The singing is integrated into the musical arrangement, however, rather than laid over the top of it and the accompanying playing from country and bluegrass masters Larry Cordle, Bradley Walker, Jerry Salley, and Carl Jackson surrounds it with near-supernatural beauty.
Quicksilver and bluegrass Hall of Famer Doyle Lawson team for a stirring rendition of “Shall We Gather at the River?” Listeners with abiding affection for this tune will find it difficult to fault Lawson and Quicksilver. It doesn’t break with the standard bluegrass formula, that’s true, but delivers necessary elements with dependable skill. They clearly hold the song in great esteem. Jerry Salley re-appears alongside Marty Raybon for the cut “My Future Ain’t What It Used to Be”. It’s another all-star effort like the earlier Parton track, albeit on a smaller scale, as Shenandoah lead singer Raybon joins Salley for a much more rugged bluegrass track than many other cuts. Its rustic quality will draw in a different segment of the genre’s audience.
“Working on a Building” develops more in that direction. The bluesy mood bleeding into this song is undeniable and blends well with A.P. Carter’s imagery. Award-winning vocalist Dale Ann Bradley shows why she’s garnered such respect with a carefully phrased vocal that nonetheless brims with life. Del McCoury and his band achieve similar results during their performance of “I’m Bound for the Land of Canaan”, the first of two Alfred E. Brumley songs included on the release. His distinctive nasal vocal addresses the lyric with a light sense of wonder, like a genuine traveler, and the loose confidence of the backing is ideal.
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“Rank Strangers” is one of these songs deserving the label bluegrass classic. It occupies the same rarified air as some of the songs on this release and other standards such as “Wayfaring Stranger” or others. If it is a litmus test of sorts for a bluegrass musician’s bonafides, then Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers pass with flying colors. Including a brief lesson mid-song about the track’s history may fall flat with some listeners while others will think it worthwhile. Renowned bluegrass artists The SteelDrivers leave a mark on this album with their recording “River of Forgiveness”. It highlights the redemptive, rather than hellfire and brimstone, themes of Country Faith Bluegrass and the unadorned beauty of these voices will uplift even non-believers. The time is always ripe for a release such as this.
Claire Uebelacker