Jesse McReynolds New Horizons CD

 Acoustic country sounds lack bluegrass spark
A leisurely approach to bluegrass is the way that Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys tap the heart and soul of the music. Charles Whitstein provides the tenors for the brother duets on this first release for the band since the passing of Jim McReynolds in December, 2002. After opening with Alton Delmore’s andante “There’s More Pretty Girls Than One,” the band covers a variety of material from Dan Seals, Rose Autry, Bob Wills, Jimmie Davis, Harold Hensley, Autry Inman, Pee Wee King, Ira Louvin, and John Prine (who even makes a cameo appearance on the reworked album closer, “Paradise”). Three original compositions penned by Jesse include She’s Coming Home Tonight, The Anniversary Song, and America on Bended Knees. He demonstrates an ability to present many musical moods such as contemporary sentimentality, traditionally-based nostalgia and patriotic crooning. I missed hearing some of that hot mandolin crosspicking that the four decade member of the Grand Ole Opry is known for. At track six, the CD finally peps it up a bit with a moderately-paced romp through Dan Seals’ “Showboat Gambler” before the album takes a turn back to more unhurried and deliberate tunes. That emphasis of this album may actually move it closer to acoustic country than bluegrass. In fact, many of the songs come from pioneers of country music, some of whom have been honored with induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Frank “Pee Wee” King, for example, was inducted in 1974. Jesse’s solo interpretation of his ballad, “My Main Trial is yet to Come,” is haunting. McReynolds and Whitstein recreate another brother duo’s classic country sound with “New Partner Waltz,” from some other Hall of Fame inductees, The Louvin Brothers. The spin accompanying this album assures us that the traditional “Jim and Jesse sound” is still alive and well, and that this is “one of the best bluegrass releases to date.” Jesse searched through a lot of songs to find something that would fit his style of singing and be a little bit different. It’s a tastefully rendered set of acoustic country, but it sadly misses the mark if it were meant to also give us some sparky bluegrass. Jesse’s mandolobro, Weldon Myrick’s dobro, and Bobby Hick’s fiddle seem to play a much more central role than say Daniel Grindstaff’s or Charlie Cushman’s five-string banjos. This is not exactly a flawed concept, but I was hoping for a little more of the bright, breezy, bouncy bluegrass that would remind me of the classic “Jim and Jesse” sound I love. I’m sure that Jesse and the band could’ve infused the music with a little more steam here and there if they had wanted to. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
Submitted by rossjoe (Roseburg, OR, USA)
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