JUST 4 MAMA
Back Porch Pickin’
Rocky
Road Blues – Blue Night – Banjo Pickin Girls – Back Porch Pickin’ – On
My Way Back To The Old Home – Bugle Call Rag – Sitting Aloine In The
Moonlight – Where The Mountains Are Blue – Kentucky Borderline –
Memories of Rain – Turkey In The Straw – Keep On The Sunny Side – Foggy
Mountain Special Jam
Road Blues – Blue Night – Banjo Pickin Girls – Back Porch Pickin’ – On
My Way Back To The Old Home – Bugle Call Rag – Sitting Aloine In The
Moonlight – Where The Mountains Are Blue – Kentucky Borderline –
Memories of Rain – Turkey In The Straw – Keep On The Sunny Side – Foggy
Mountain Special Jam
I’m
never sure how I ‘pick’ CD’s to review, but today it’s good old-timey
music. This one is bluegrass of the more traditional sound, exactly as I
like it. There’s an awful lot of ‘super pickers’ in bluegrass music
these days, but they don’t really play bluegrass. They play a kind of
bluegrass-jazz-instrumental-
their brother hops on the bandwagon and tells the world how great they
are. Unfortunately that leaves the ‘real deal’ somewhere back in the
country. But just maybe, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The ‘real
deal’ has never left the genre like so many musicians want to do, and
Just 4 Mama is a ‘real-deal’ group, mom, dad, and two daughters that
pick the dickens out of every instrument they play. They don’t wander
away from the ‘real-deal’ sound of bluegrass music, and their pickin’
still holds true to the genre. Quickly it’s dad on the bass, his name
is Jimmie, and he sometimes worries if his ears are growing or is his
face shrinking? Ummmm, I don’t know. Mom is Christina on guitar and
vocals and the bands manager. Actually the picture on the cover has dad
with three rather young looking girls. Ooops, one of those is
Christina. Well there you have it, Hilary plays mandolin, tenor banjo,
and vocals. Tenor banjo would only have four strings. She must have
lost one somewhere. Chloey plays 5-string banjo, bass and vocals, so
you see there is an entirely incredibly good family bluegrass band
pickin’ on the back porch here. “Bugle Call Rag” certainly puts the
banjo in the drivers seat, and good it is. The next song “Sitting Alone
In The Moonlight” is a nice slow song that spotlights the mandolin, and
indeed good it is. Super good bluegrass band here, and I’m wishing
they could be with us this year, because this is the year I will be
submitting this CD to the Rural Roots Music Commission for their “Old
Time Bluegrass CD of the Year” award. You’ll like this group too, and
if you like traditional bluegrass you should have their CD. just4mamaband@gmail.com
You also need to know that Chloey is not only a terrific 5-string banjo
picker, she also has orange hair. Whaaaaat? Yes, we’ll you’ll have to
find that out for yourself. And, you also need to know that Hilary
spends a lot of time hula-hooping in the creek when she’s not tanning
deer hides. Hmmmmm that all starts to sound suspicious. At any rate, I
have them at the top of my charts, they are super well tuned, not only
with instruments but with each other, just as it should be for a family
bluegrass band. So that makes me a fan of “Just 4 Mama” and when mama’s
happy, everybody’s happy. Jimmie does a nice job playing old-time
fiddle on “Turkey In The Straw.” Keep it comin’ Mama, I’m happy too.
never sure how I ‘pick’ CD’s to review, but today it’s good old-timey
music. This one is bluegrass of the more traditional sound, exactly as I
like it. There’s an awful lot of ‘super pickers’ in bluegrass music
these days, but they don’t really play bluegrass. They play a kind of
bluegrass-jazz-instrumental-
their brother hops on the bandwagon and tells the world how great they
are. Unfortunately that leaves the ‘real deal’ somewhere back in the
country. But just maybe, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The ‘real
deal’ has never left the genre like so many musicians want to do, and
Just 4 Mama is a ‘real-deal’ group, mom, dad, and two daughters that
pick the dickens out of every instrument they play. They don’t wander
away from the ‘real-deal’ sound of bluegrass music, and their pickin’
still holds true to the genre. Quickly it’s dad on the bass, his name
is Jimmie, and he sometimes worries if his ears are growing or is his
face shrinking? Ummmm, I don’t know. Mom is Christina on guitar and
vocals and the bands manager. Actually the picture on the cover has dad
with three rather young looking girls. Ooops, one of those is
Christina. Well there you have it, Hilary plays mandolin, tenor banjo,
and vocals. Tenor banjo would only have four strings. She must have
lost one somewhere. Chloey plays 5-string banjo, bass and vocals, so
you see there is an entirely incredibly good family bluegrass band
pickin’ on the back porch here. “Bugle Call Rag” certainly puts the
banjo in the drivers seat, and good it is. The next song “Sitting Alone
In The Moonlight” is a nice slow song that spotlights the mandolin, and
indeed good it is. Super good bluegrass band here, and I’m wishing
they could be with us this year, because this is the year I will be
submitting this CD to the Rural Roots Music Commission for their “Old
Time Bluegrass CD of the Year” award. You’ll like this group too, and
if you like traditional bluegrass you should have their CD. just4mamaband@gmail.com
You also need to know that Chloey is not only a terrific 5-string banjo
picker, she also has orange hair. Whaaaaat? Yes, we’ll you’ll have to
find that out for yourself. And, you also need to know that Hilary
spends a lot of time hula-hooping in the creek when she’s not tanning
deer hides. Hmmmmm that all starts to sound suspicious. At any rate, I
have them at the top of my charts, they are super well tuned, not only
with instruments but with each other, just as it should be for a family
bluegrass band. So that makes me a fan of “Just 4 Mama” and when mama’s
happy, everybody’s happy. Jimmie does a nice job playing old-time
fiddle on “Turkey In The Straw.” Keep it comin’ Mama, I’m happy too.
Review by Bob Everhart, Pres., NTCMA www.ntcma.net
for Country Music News International