CD: The Bluegrass Drifters

JOHN CAMPBELL –
The Bluegrass Drifters

 

Gospel Plow – Lost Ball – Running Late – Angel On High – Letter From My Darlin
 
It’s already the ‘time’ of determining 2014 CD
of the year awards for the Rural Roots Music Commission, and this very
first one is incredibly good.  This is a stunningly tight bluegrass
band, but they also sound a little like traditional country to me. 
First song out of the chute, “Gospel Plow” is exactly that.  The tempo
is one of those songs that just automatically want you to snap your
fingers and sway with the rhythm.  The first instrument that attracted
my attention in the first song was the Dobro played so super well. The
second thing I noticed really fast was what a master of the fiddle John
Campbell is.  I knew his brother Jimmy quite well.  (What a tragic way
for such a gifted instrumentalist to leave us).  Jimmy played with Jim
& Jesse, I had him and them on my TV show “Old Time Country Music”
and what magic they created that night.  Johnny Campbell is a third
generation fiddler who grew up listening to the greats like Bill Monroe,
Jimmy Martin, Jim & Jesse, and the Stanley Brothers.  Wow, that’s
where the ‘school’ is really located.  I can even hear a little Kenny
Baker (another of my television friends) in Johnny’s style.  Whew, where
has this guy been?  He sticks closely to the ‘roots’ of good Bluegrass
music and certainly brings his enthusiasm and charisma to the bow and
strings upon which he plays.  This short representation of the CD to
come, definitely gives the listener a true Bluegrass listening
experience.  This is not just another put one on and read a book.  No
way are you going to read a book.  In my own book I can truthfully say
this 2013 experience takes me back to early Bill Monroe (great Monroe
style mandolin throughout), even to the time Bill and his brother
Charley spent in Iowa.  Johnny Campbell is so ‘true’ to the genre, so
‘true’ to his musical background, so ‘true’ to our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Johnny stays right on line all the way through.  Like Johnny I say
“let’s pick.”  That’s what this ‘kind’ of music is all about.  No one
give’s their soul away for a little fame.  No one give’s their mind away
for a little money.  No one gives their talent away for a little media
attention.  “Keep your hand on the throttle and hold on.”  This is the
very first CD to go to the Rural Roots Music Commission, and I seriously
believe that any traditional bluegrass-country group making a new CD
will have a hard time competing with this one. My best advice to Johnny
Campbell & The Bluegrass Drifters is to try to set aside a couple of
days Aug 25-31, 2014, to pick up, I’m pretty sure, a ‘Traditional
Bluegrass CD Award of the Year.’ Not much information on who the players
are or the studio they used, but the ‘mix’ is extremely well done.
 
Johnny Campbell

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