From performing alongside the likes of Doyle Lawson, Ricky Skaggs and Vern Gosdin, Lou Reid has shared the stage with some of the best in bluegrass and country music. Today, in addition to being a member of the Seldom Scene, Lou fronts his own band, Lou Reid and Carolina. Their latest album, Callin’ Me Back Home, hit shelves in April and promises to be a great addition to the band’s catalog.
The ten-song album features superior musicianship from the four members of the band: Lou on guitar and mandolin, Shannon Slaughter on guitar, Trevor Watson on banjo, and Lou’s wife Christy Reid on acoustic bass. In addition, several special guest musicians add to the album’s sound, including Neil Worf (drums), Mike Auldridge (pedal steel), Ron Stewart (fiddle), Rob Ickes (dobro), and Tony Rice (lead and rhythm guitar). Several of these instruments help to create a more modern, country sound, especially on the album’s closing tune, Big Old Red Guitar, which features drums, pedal steel, and Rice on lead guitar.
This tune is also one which many musicians and fans of bluegrass music can easily identify with, as it tells the story of a young boy saving up for his first guitar. The album also features many other common themes of bluegrass music, from the singer longing for home in Oh, Kentucky to the modern-day twist on the classic murder ballad, Emmaline.
Though many of the themes are traditional, the sound is fully contemporary, featuring smooth lead vocals from Lou, Shannon, and Christy and spot-on instrumentation. One more traditional-sounding tune is Blew Monday, a fun, banjo-driven addition to the album in which a man doesn’t regret skipping out on work to spend a little more time with the women who gets him “fired.”
Other standout tracks on the album include Another Lonely Day, penned by Monroeville member Daniel Salyer, and the album’s first single, Carolina Moonshine Man, (co-written by Lou, Ray Edwards, and Terry Foust) which debuted at number 2 on the Bluegrass Today charts. Overall, the album is a great example of modern bluegrass music, and should both please current fans of Lou Reid and Carolina as well as bring the band many new followers.
For more information on Lou Reid and Carolina, to see where they’ll be performing next, or to purchase Callin’ Me Back Home, visit the band’s website at www.loureidandcarolina.com. The album can also be downloaded from iTunes, Amazon, Best Buy, and WalMart.
