Junior Sisk could sing the telephone book and make it sound lonesome. Add in the buttery smooth harmonies of Heather Mabe and a killer band with Johnathan Dillon (mandolin), Curt Love (bass), Tony Mabe (banjo and harmony vocals), and a guest appearance from Don Rigsby, and you know it’s gonna be a great bluegrass album!
As is his custom, Junior takes a 1950s country tune, Hank Snow’s I Don’t Hurt Anymore and Siskifies it. Junior added, “I never stray too far from the Stanley style. I had to learn a new chord on Tupelo Honey, but I just don’t play barre chords. But neither did Carter Stanley, and he got by all them years, and I have too!”
This is Junior’s first album with Turnberry Records, and it features three songs written by Junior, excellent recording by Wes Easter, and not a filler song to be found.
In the title cut, It’s All Fun and Games (until someone gets hurt) the wiser, seasoned road warrior, Junior warns younger bluegrassers to be careful out there on the road, where it’s all fun and games – wine, women, and song – until it isn’t! Be careful, son, her lips drip sweet as honey, but in the end, they are as bitter as wormwood:
The more that you drink, the less that you care
About the woman at home, waiting up for you there
You think she’ll never know what you couldn’t resist
Well, it’s our secret now,
But the word gets around in a small town like this.
Junior often includes a fun song, and Weather Woman is just that. It’s a sassy bop with a great chorus and sibling-like harmony that salutes his favorite TV queen, Stephanie (Abrams), “who’s easy on the eyes,” and who, oh by the way, also lets him know the forecast every morning. Maybe The Weather Station will become Junior’s bus sponsor. Praise God for meteorologists!
The Devil’s Train is a hard-driving bluegrass gospel song you may not have heard, but it’ll quickly sound familiar as it carries you 180 mph down the track:
That Devil’s train is long and black
It’s beautiful to see
It offers you temptation
But it brings you misery
Oh, come and ride that glorious train
Where happiness is free
It’s on its way to Heaven now
To spend eternity.
This 1949 Hank Williams song was sped up and made ‘bluegrass famous’ by Junior’s pal, the late James King. Junior offers The Devil’s Train as a tribute to James. Amazingly, Junior and Dudley Connell were in the hospital visiting James King minutes before he died, each holding his hand, crying, and promising James that they would never let his music die. This song was initially recorded as Junior’s contribution to Bent Mountain’s forthcoming album, Me and Junior! But the song was so good that Bent Mountain and the bishop insisted that Junior release it. Jason Davis, sitting in on banjo, and Dillon on mandolin set a breakneck pace that has tongues hanging out.
In his teens, Junior competed against James King in guitar and singing competitions throughout Virginia and North Carolina. Junior said that their competition was intense but always friendly, and smiled, quipping, “I won about half the time.” Mercy, can you imagine hearing a 16-year-old Junior and James King in a sing-off?
Junior loves the sacred numbers, and Breaking His Heart All Over Again, written by David Marshall and Joe Isaacs, showcases the stunning harmonies of Junior, Heather, and Tony. The last a cappella chorus will touch the hardest heart and, in light of His grace, bring a tear to your eye:
Why do you wander? Why are you so cold?
When Jesus is watching you stray from the fold
He gave you a pardon. He died for your sins
You’re breaking His heart all over again
Pure bliss for a traditional bluegrass lover. Don’t miss it.
