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Three classic digital re-issues from CMH

CMH Records has re-released three gems from their catalog today, all available for the first time in digital form. All three had initially been pressed as LPs in the early 1980s, featuring several of the top artists that recorded for the label.

The Osborne Brothers were in their prime in 1980 when I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me was first released. The title track, written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant of Rocky Top fame, was another big song for the Osbornes, and the album also contains their version of John Denver’s Take Me Home Country Roads, Paul Craft’s Keep Me From Blowing Away, Merle Haggard’s Shelly’s Winter Love, and Georgia Mules and Country Boys, also from the Bryants. It’s a classic that belongs in every serious bluegrass lover’s library.

Fans of fingerpicking guitar know that Merle Travis was the granddaddy of the alternating thumb style in country music, and his 1981 record, Travis Pickin’, is as clean and simple an example of his playing as you could find. 14 tracks of solo acoustic guitar, without amplification or effects – just Merle and his trusty six string. It includes several of his original instrumentals, plus popular songs that he has made his own. Love Letters in the Sand, You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You, and The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise are all here, along with Rose Time and Too Tight Rag. Great stuff!

Knoxville’s Pinnacle Boys helped put that town on the bluegrass map in the 1970s, along with their friends and occasional collaborators, The Knoxville Grass. Their High Lonesome Bluegrass from 1980 was part of that sound, an aggressive, driving approach that laid the groundwork for acts like Lonesome River Band who hit it big a decade later. Here are several originals from lead singer and guitarist Bud Brewster, plus a number of standards from the bluegrass repertoire. If you don’t know the music of The Pinnacle Boys, dive on in.

These three re-issues are available today wherever you purchase downloads online, and are serviced to radio via AirPlay Direct.

CMH drops a trio of bluegrass classics

Since 1975, CMH Records has been releasing a string of strong bluegrass and roots music recordings. It’s right there in their name: Country Music Heritage.

In recent years the label has been focused on a very successful series of albums called Pickin’ On, which involve bluegrass covers of rock and pop artists. Titles include such as Pickin’ On Nirvana, Pickin’ On Taylor Swift, and Fade To Bluegrass. The catalog includes dozens of these records, which are serious tributes to the originals, done bluegrass style.

But back in the ’70s and ’80s, CMH was home to superstars like The Osborne Brothers, Mac Wiseman, and Lester Flatt. The label has created a series called CMH Legacy to make these fine recordings available to the public once again. Many of these have been on CD for some time, and now CMH is working backwards to bring dormant projects to digital for the first time.

This week they will re-release three classic albums for digital download, all created from the original masters. Each track has been carefully remastered for digital release, and will be made available on Friday for the first time in a digital format.

From 198o comes Curly Seckler & The Nashville Grass’ Take A Little Time, their first release following the passing of Lester Flatt in ’79. For a special treat, they had Johnny Cash as a guest vocalist on two tracks. Also featured was a young Marty Stuart on mandolin. Seckler continued The Nashville Grass for another ten years after this album.

Don Reno & The Tennessee Cut-Ups’ 30^th Anniversary Album was also first released in 1980. It marked the group’s 60th recorded project, many of them cut with Don’s famous partners, Red Smiley or Bill Harrell. Reno’s remarkable banjo style drives all the music on this stellar record.

And from 1978 comes Smokin’ Bluegrass from Bobby Smith and The Boys From Shiloh, with special guest Josh Graves. Smith hones his bluegrass vocal skills as lead singer with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. He was a popular singer in the ’70s for his blending of contemporary pop and country songs into his bluegrass style.

All three of these CMH classics will be available on Friday, May 25 wherever you purchase music for digital download. Radio programmers will have access to the tracks via AirPlay Direct.

Those of us old enough to remember the original issues will welcome a chance to own them in the new portable format, and younger bluegrass fans are encouraged to check them out for a lesson in our music’s history.

Well done, CMH!

CMH to launch digital reissues of classic bluegrass

When CMH Records was founded by German immigrant Martin Haerle in 1975, he and his partner, Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, focused on contemporary bluegrass and traditional country music. Haerle had become a fan of the music while he lived in Germany, and after moving the US, eventually ended up as a Vice President at the iconic Starday Records during the ’60s.

Together Haerle and Smith released classic records from The Osborne Brothers, Lester Flatt, Mac Wiseman, Jim & Jesse, Earl Story, and The Bluegrass Cardinals, are were a dominant force in bluegrass during their hey day. When Martin passed away in 1990, his son David took over the reins, and the primary CMH releases were the popular Pickin’ On series of album that featured bluegrass cover of pop and rock trendsetters.

The Pickin’ On projects continue to be popular for CMH, but in great news for lovers of ’70s and ’80s bluegrass, the company has announced the launch of a series of digital reissues for download purchase. Many of these recordings have been made available on CD, but many others have been out of print for years. They are scouring the archives and plan to have a number of new reissue titles each month, created from the original masters, and preserved forever in the modern digital format.

For March, they have re-released three vintage albums: A Touch of Bryant from Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, Dim Lights, Thick Smoke from Joe Maphis with Rose Lee & Dale, and Sing Away the Pain from Josh Graves. They are offered for download sale from the CMH web site, and from popular sites like iTunes, Amazon, or Spotify.

At this rate, CMH will be have put a wealth of classic bluegrass back on the market in no time.

All of these reissues will be available to radio programmers through AirPlay Direct.

Rocketman video from Iron Horse

Starting in the early 1970s, American rock/jazz/pop band Steely Dan introduced a new model in the music business. Though they did tour extensively at the beginning, they soon became a studio band where their two creative founders (Donald Fagen and Walter Becker) wrote and produced new music which they recorded with the help of some of the top instrumentalists and drummers of the time. Frank Zappa had done something similar a decade earlier, but few of his releases came close to the popular, critical, and radio success that Fagen and Becker enjoyed.

This studio band concept had not been common in bluegrass until recent years, when special projects featuring artists who don’t normally perform together have taken off, with one or more superstar collaborations being released every year. The storied Bluegrass Album Band could be credited with starting this trend in our world, but we have very few bands who exist almost solely in the studio.

One that does is Alabama’s Iron Horse who, while they do perform on occasion, has cranked out a total of 16 album with sales in the half a million range. Four of those have been self-produced CDs of their own music, but the rest have been bluegrass tribute projects for CMH Records. At one point CMH was a mainstream bluegrass label who featured major acts like The Osborne Brothers in their stable, but have in recent years found a comfortable niche offering dozens of titles in their Pickin’ On… series. Titles range from Pickin’ On The Beatles to Pickin’ On Kid Rock, with tributes to Ozzy Osborne and Metallica among the many others.

Iron Horse consists of Tony Robertson on mandolin, Vance Henry on guitar, Ricky Rogers on bass, and Anthony Richardson on banjo. They have just released a music video for a track included on CMH’s 2007 release, Tribute To Classic Rock Hits, Edition 1. It’s Elton John’s Rocketman, with a bluegrass arrangement.

That CD, along with all of their other albums can be purchased from the Iron Horse web site.

Pickin On CMH

We’ve posted many times over the past two years about the Pickin’ On series from CMH Records. This impressive series (234 titles and counting) involves bluegrass instrumental tributes to successful pop, rock and country artists.

Many have featured some of bluegrass music’s most celebrated players, and introduced fiery bluegrass picking to new listeners based on their primary interest in the artists whose career is receiving the grassy tributes.

We hear from CMH that they are currently searching for new producers and bands for upcoming tribute projects. They ask that anyone interested in being a part of future tributes should contact either Jim Silvers or Greg Sanford at CMH.

Bluegrass tribute to Bob Seeger

Cornbread Red has a new CD of bluegrass tributes, this one for rock music legend Bob Seger. Runnin’ Against The Wind features their take on Seger classics like Night Moves, We’ve Got Tonight, Like A Rock and Against The Wind.

Cornbread Red likes to refer to themselves as “the Steely Dan of bluegrass,” a reference to the successful pop act whose two primary writers spend most of their time in the studio carefully crafting their music.

The band consists of Stan Dailey on bass and lead vocals, Mark Whitehead on mandolin and guitar, Mark Scott on banjo and Dennis Clifton on resonator guitar. They have recorded a number of similar projects for CMH records, including tributes to Aerosmith, Nickelback and Maroon 5.

You can hear audio samples from Runnin’ Against The Wind in iTunes.

Benny Martin – The Fiddle Collection

When the roll is called of the all-time greatest fiddlers in bluegrass, the name of Benny Martin will always be included. He was a member of the Flatt & Scruggs show for several years in the early 1950s, and also worked briefly for Bill Monroe. He played on The Grand Ole Opry as a solo performer, and had stints with country artists Johnny and Jack, Roy Acuff and Kitty Wells.

He was a flamboyant performer, and a favorite with fans in the 50s and 60s for his singing and fiddling, plus his huge smile and larger-than-life persona on stage. Benny passed away in 2001, but had been in ill health since the mid-’80s, so a great many younger bluegrass fans and fiddlers have only a passing acquaintance with his brilliant playing.

Thanks to CMH Records, one of his classic recordings is set to be reissued on CD. The Fiddle Collection, originally released as a 2 LP set in 1977, is set to hit the street on October 9 in a special CD edition. The tracks from the original vinyl have been remastered, and a number of bonus tracks are included as well, all of which feature John Hartford on banjo.

Among the 28 tracks are such favorites as Lee Highway Blues, Fiddlers Dream, Back Up And Push and Ragtime Annie, as well as bluegrass numbers like Flint Hill Special, Footprints In The Snow and Foggy Mountain Breakdown.

To get a feel for just how influential Martin was on the next generation of fiddlers, we asked a few of the current nominees for the IBMA Fiddle Player Of The Year Award for comment.

First up is Mountain Heart’s Jim Van Cleve:

“Big Tige (Benny Martin) was the quintessential bluegrass fiddle player…Unbelievably rich tone, especially considering the recording technology of the time, an incredible awareness of the vocal and an inventiveness for where he needed be in context to it. It was so natural for him. Ultimately, he played a huge part in defining for a lot of players, myself included, what types of things were appropriate for the bluegrass fiddler. It’s not unlike what Tony Rice eventually did for bluegrass guitar. His signature fire and enthusiasm just underlined the fact that what he was playing and creating was perfect!”

Ron Stewart, fiddling with JD Crowe & The New South added these words:

“Benny Martin put the fiddle to a new level with tone, phrasing, and double stops!!! He played aggressive, got a huge tone, and slid double stops like no one has or ever will! His name was ‘Big Tiger,’ ‘Big’ for tone, and ‘Tiger’ for how he attacked! Anyone who plays fiddle, or aspires to play fiddle, should know Benny’s work.”

We also heard from Hunter Berry, from Rhonda Vincent & The Rage:

“Benny ‘Big Tige’ Martin is one of the greatest bluegrass fiddlers in history. His stint with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs gave his fiddling an opportunity to build himself a foundation for a prosperous career. Big Tige was one of the first fiddle players to play with the same authority as the lead vocal and with as much aggression as the banjo. Combined with incredibly well rounded vocals and swing-like rhythms, Benny created a category all of his own.”

Fellow fiddle legend Bobby Hicks also had a few words to share about Martin.

“Benny and I were good friends at the time I was working for Bill Monroe. I don’t know anything bad or funny about him, but God knows WHAT A FIDDLE PLAYER HE WAS!!!!”

You can hear several audio samples from The Fiddle Collection on the CMH web site.

Hit & Run goes all Simpsons on us

Things have been jumping of late for Rebecca and John Frazier of Hit & Run. In addition to managing a busy touring schedule, the two were married last summer (August ’06), and they moved to Nashville from Colorado this spring. Nashville is a powerful draw for folks serious about a career in the music business, and like so many before them, John and Rebecca felt that they were missing opportunities by being so far from the center of gravity.

One such opportunity arose almost immediately upon their arrival – a bluegrass tribute to the music of TV’s animated blockbuster, The Simpsons! It will be released this summer on CMH Records, to coincide with the theatrical release of The Simpsons full length feature film.

Rebecca said that taking this on as a Hit & Run project fell into place immediately, and was among the first things they tackled after getting settled in.

“CMH has been asking us to do a project since they first heard us in 2004, but we’ve always been too busy on the road to fit in a record for them. This spring we took some time off the road to get moved to Nashville, and we actually recorded it seven days after we got to town. Basically we drove a U-Haul to Nashville, unpacked boxes, and drove to Merlefest to play with Donna Hughes. Two days later we cut this record.

Since John and I had just moved and were unable to fly in the other band members, we asked our good friends from The Infamous Stringdusters to pitch in their efforts.

We were lucky enough to work with Rich Adler at Soundwave Studios. We had a blast with him! He has recorded everyone in bluegrass, it seems. He recorded Every Time You Say Goodbye (Alison Krauss), and Mark Twang (John Hartford). He also recorded Comes A Time, one of my favorite Neil Young records.”

The title of the CD is Four Finger Music – The Bluegrass Tribute to the Music Made Famous by The Simpsons. I don’t suppose you have to be a big Simpsons fan to get a kick out of this, but if you are one (like me), it seems destined to be a cult classic.

I asked Rebecca if they were fans of the show.

“Frazier is the real Simpsons fan of the group. He’s seen more episodes than I knew existed, and he quotes them freely and fondly.

It was definitely an enjoyable experience. CMH choose the songs, and some of the music is so silly, we’d all just burst out laughing while we sang it. The tunes are hilarious and they definitely evoke the spirit of the show. We kept the show-tune feeling on a lot of the songs, but we bluegrass-ized them at the same time.

I think you can hear that we were having fun in the studio. We recorded it in three days, basically live, with improvised solos and zero tuning on the vocals.”

You can find a full track listing and audio samples on the CMH web site. The opening and closing instrumental themes from the show bookend the project, with the 12 vocals in between. Regular Simpsons watchers will recognize the songs, with standouts like The Stonecutters theme, I Bagged Me A Homer and Hail To Thee, Kamp Krusty.

It is set for a July 17 release, ten days before The Simpsons Movie opens in theaters.

I also asked Rebecca how they like living in Nashville.

“It’s been a blast here so far. We’ve met incredible, talented, soulful, creative people, and we love being in the center of so much music. I know that we haven’t even begun to experience what Middle Tennessee has to offer, but we’ve enjoyed it so far. Plus, we’re closer to our parents, who live in Chicago and Virginia!

As I type, we’re headed down to Georgia for a festival. The past couple weekends, we did festivals and shows in Utah, Colorado, Ohio, and Michigan. We’re still playing with Larry Gangi on banjo (from Missoula, MT) and Ricky Keen on Dobro (from Benson, NC). The newest member is our bass player/singer, David Mayfield, who lives in Nashville.”

You can find out more about this engaging young band on their web site, where you can also find their tour schedule.

Tim McGraw Bluegrass Tribute – Update

We just got an update on this project from Brad Davis. He tells us the release date is set for November 21st, 2006. The label, CMH is currently evaluating songs on the project for release as a single. The title of the project is Where The Bluegrass Grows. At the present I couldn’t find any audio samples online, but I’ll update again when they become available. In the meantime, here’s the song list from the disc.

Songs:

Real Good Man
Indian Outlaw
Where the green grass grows
My best friend
Please remember me
Ain’t no angles – written by Brad Davis and Billy Montana
Down on the farm
I like it I love it
Live like you were dying
My thirty years
Something like that

Tim McGraw Bluegrass Tribute

Brad Davis called me the other afternoon just to say hi, but as always I asked him what he had been up to. Brad is a busy guy. He produces a TV show, does his own touring, performs with Earl Scruggs, records and performs with Billy Bob Thornton, and produces. Like I said, he’s busy. After I asked, he told me about a couple new projects he’s involved with and I got his permission to share them with you here.

First, Brad is the co-writer for every song on a new CD by Billy Bob Thornton. Not only did Brad co-write all the material, he also plays and sings on the record. It’s not really bluegrass, but it can’t help but have some grass hidden in there somewhere when Brad is involved.

The other project he’s worked on recently is a bluegrass tribute to Tim McGraw. This is another CMH Records project similar to the Strummin’ With The Devil tribute to Van Halen. On this particular CD though, it’s really all Brad. Brad played guitar, mandolin and bass. He also sang all but one tune on the record. That one was sung by Billy Bob. Joining Brad on the CD are his brother Greg Davis on banjo, Rob Ickes on dobro, Hoot Hester on fiddle, and Larry Marrs on harmony vocals.

Brad produced this CD as well as being the principle musician on it. So, for all you Brad Davis fans this will be a must have I’m sure.

Interestingly, the CD is finished and I believe it’s already shipped to distribution, but I could find no info about it on the CMH website. Brad was calling me from the CMH parkinglot where he was picking up a box for himself. He promised to send me a copy, so I’ll be sure to share with you what I think after I receive it.