One of bluegrass music’s greatest elements is its instrumental prowess. Many of the genre’s greatest players are able to utilize that ability to create thrilling, ear catching pieces. This is most clearly evident on Andy Leftwich’s latest release, Aced, on Mountain Home Music. The master fiddler and mandolinist wrote the bulk of the tunes on this project, each spotlighting a different element of Andy’s versatility.
The title track, Aced, opens the album with a nice mid-tempo groove with a strong Celtic influence. Accompanying Leftwich all throughout is a supporting cast that is appropriately referred to in the liner notes as The Aces, consisting of Cody Kilby on guitar, Matt Menefee on banjo, and Byron House on upright bass. Other tracks such as Brookstone and Road To Antioch also have a nice touch of the Celtic to them with both featuring Jeff Taylor on accordion. The latter features Fionán de Barra providing powerful, authentic Irish rhythm guitar.
Old Hickory and Tom and Jerry present Andy in the traditional fiddling context most associate with him, while Behind the 8 Ball and Highland Rim are showcases of his otherworldly abilities on the mandolin.
Talk About Suffering and Crossville are both clear nods to Leftwich’s longtime boss and mentor, Ricky Skaggs. The former is a unique take on a gospel standard recorded by Ricky on several occasions, while the latter is a tune that Skaggs wrote and performed on 2003’s Live at Charleston Music Hall, which took place during Andy’s tenure in Kentucky Thunder.
Aced is arguably Andy Leftwich’s finest work to date. It not only presents his sterling instrumentalism that so many have loved, but it gives us an even greater glance at his compositional mastery.
