Just as Russell Moore is blowing people’s minds on tour with Alison Krauss & Union Station, we get a new single, New Cut Road, from his primary outfit. It’s as if Russell wanted to remind everyone that IIIrd Tyme Out is still a going thing, and is set to resume performing together once the AKUS tour concludes in September.
New Cut Road is a track Russell and the band recorded a few years ago, a Guy Clark song from 1981, which was notably covered by Bobby Bare, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, and several others.
But Moore says that it was Bare’s radio hit in ’82 that caught his attention.
“I fell in love with this song a long time ago after hearing the version by Bobby Bare. The biggest reason was the fiddle playing on that cut. The fiddle was cross-tuned and made me want to dance… and I can’t dance!
I didn’t find out until years later that it was Ricky Skaggs who played fiddle on Bobby’s version, and it all made sense. Ricky is one of my favorite fiddle players, and his playing motivated me to see what we could do with this song and, although we have a little bit different arrangement, I think it turned out great!”
Studio support came from regular bandmates Wayne Benson on mandolin, Keith McKinnon on banjo, and Nathan Aldridge on fiddle. Keith’s twin brother Kevin plays bass on the cut, as he was a part of IIIrd Tyme Out when they recorded this one. Russell, of course, sings lead and plays guitar.
It’s a good’n. Check it out.
New Cut Road is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.
You can check the upcoming tour schedule for Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out online as well, starting October 17 in Oklahoma.
