Bluegrass artists are really leaning on Rod Stewart of late. First Daniel Grindstaff has a big hit with Forever Young, and here comes The Seldom Scene with a grassed up take on Reason to Believe.
Of course, recording bluegrass versions of pop hits had been a Scene strategy from their formation in 1971, before any of the current members of the band were involved. It’s another tradition that they have preserved, along with the band name and repertoire.
Reason to Believe is the first single from the band for Down The Road Records, recently formed by the original Rounder Records founders. It was recorded during the tracking for the Scene’s Changes project, and released now as a standalone single.
Guitarist Dudley Connell says that while they were all familiar with the pop hit from the early ’70s, their inspiration reached further back.
“I first heard Reason to Believe on Rod Stewart’s 1971 recording, Every Picture Tells a Story. Much later, Ken Irwin introduced us to the original version of the song by its writer, Tim Hardin. We all really enjoyed the original and modeled the Seldom Scene’s version based largely on Hardin’s original recording.”
Sung by mandolinist Lou Reid, support comes from Fred Travers on reso-guitar, Ronnie Simpkins on bass, Connell on guitar, and Ron Stewart on fiddle.
Check it out…
Reason to Believe is available now from popular download and streaming services online.
