Customer Reviews

All American Bluegrass Girl

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have hundreds of cd's many of them purchased from Amazon and many of them bluegrass but I have never been moved to write a review before. In my opinion All American Bluegrass Girl is a fabulous album with amazing music. Rhonda sings beautifully and some of the instrumentals and riffs are fantastic.I visit the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee each year and this (commercial) cd is the closest I have heard to the "real thing". Well done Rhonda and your team, keep up the good work, I hope that you will get more recognition through this album, especially here in the UK. To the people who complain about the gospel and military songs, visit the real bluegrass areas especially in NC and Eastern Kentucky and you might understand where they come from.

As previously stated, I am a traditionalist bordering on a dinasaur. I have been following Rhonda Vincent from her earlier pure bluegrass albums, through her efforts to reinvent herself as a Nashville diva & back toward to her present CD. Although the earlier efforts were uneven, she has never gotten credit for her pure talents. The best evidence I think is where she does covers of other artist's hits. Her renditions of "Don't Lie" & "When I Close My Eyes" put Trace Adkins & Kenny Chesney, respective versions to shame. This CD contains the best song selection, the best production (no attempts to overproduce like most of Nashville these days) & best vocals by Ms. Vincent. As far as the cover photo, since when has it been a bad idea for an attractive woman to get dressed up & look glamorous?

I have no problems with the reviewer who hates gospel songs and bluegrass (capital B), although he failed to really review the cd and seemed to critique himself.
I can see why he would like Alison Krauss rather than Rhonda Vincent since about 60% of the later Krauss cds are more pop than bluegrass. A rule of thumb is if she sings it more pop and if Dan Tyminshi sings it is more bluegrass.
This Vincent cd is pure contemporary bluegrass with maybe a dash of pop/country in some songs. Her song selection and the band are top notch. Her mandolin playing is solid but is not amazing as is Ron McCoury, Sam Bush or David Grisman.
As far as the controversy about the cover and what she is wearing: Grow up America!

Prime Cuts: Til They Come Home, Forever Ain't That Long Anymore, Don't Act

Spotting a million-dollar polish pose donned with a sultry rock chic look, Vincent's glossy album cover looks like it belongs to a Ashlee Simpson's photo shoot. But bluegrass purists fret not, for "All American Bluegrass Girl" is a solid bluegrass effort with a searing contemporary edge. If one needs convincing, on the title cut, Vincent pledges her allegiance to the genre when she sings: "Each morning I greet the mornin'/Lester Flatt was singing/on the Martha White show/Big K on the banjo/I'm an all American bluegrass girl/and proud of where I've been." Backed by her impeccable The Rage band and producing this set with her brother Darrin Vincent, "All American Bluegrass Girl" is a tight set with fervid sounding uptempoes as well as some heart stirring ballads.

Instead of just name dropping, Vincent actually calls in one of bluegrass' pioneers Bobby Osborne to duet with her on "Midnight Angel." Though Vincent has had cut this tune before, this new rendition boasts an augmented verse courtesy of brother, Brian Vincent. Further, Osborne is not the only musical elite to share the microphone with Vincent, but close friend Dolly Parton also makes an appearance. Though billed as a duet, in reality Parton merely adds harmony to the chorus of "Heartbreak Alibi." A turgid number with fiddles performed at bullet speed, "Heartbreaker's Alibi" finds the ladies giving a two-timing creep a verbal showdown.

However, the album's showstoppers are actually the ballads. Though there may have thousands of songs dedicated to expounding the angst of a broken heart, "Forever Ain't That Long Anymore" ushers in a hermeneutic that is illuminating and assuaging. Also, quite searching is narrative-oriented "Till They Come Home." This Bryon Hill and Mike Derkle joint-composition presents montages of relationships short-changed by the atrocities of war. With Vincent's delicate girlish vocal swirl, she brings a sensitivity to this heart tugging tune so befitting of the song's lyrics. A little less acerbic and bordering on the more maudlin side is "Prettiest Flower There," is a dirge-like ballad dealing with the death of Vincent's grandparents. Like most bluegrass albums, Gospel numbers are indispensable. "Don't Act," is an infectious driving number, about being an authentic Christian. With its toe-tapping beat, though a little on the cliché side is "Jesus Built a Bridge to Heaven."

Despite being a diverse album of ballads and hard-driving uptempoes, covering a plethora of issues from love to war to Christianity to death, the songs here are expected and somehow safe. Most of these issues have been dealt with in all her bluegrass CDs and there's nothing that would surprise long time fans. But, perhaps that's the shade that has vitiated Vincent from reaching newer heights. Nevertheless, there's enough good stuff here that makes this American bluegrass girl interesting, engaging and genial.

I saw Rhonda Vincent & the Rage live this spring, and it confirmed my opinion that she's the best blugrass artist on the planet. She and the band, 3 microphones, and 2 hours later I still wasn't ready for it to end.
All American Bluegrass Girl is a rock solid album, with excellent production values. There's a good mix of ballad, uptempo, religous, and patriotic songs, perfomed by the best band in the world.
Why then, did I feel let down? After listening to her live album for most of the last year, my expectations werre pretty high. Rhonda & the band feed off each other and the audience during her live shows, and that excitement is nearly impossible to replicate in the studio. I put the cd in expecting that rush, and it wasn't there.
If you like Rhonda, or if you like bluegrass, you won't be disappointed. but if you get the chance to see Rhonda live, do it. It may be the best show on earth.

The album starts with two first rate songs , the title track "All American Bluegrass Girl" and "Forever Ain't That Long Any More". The whole album has excellent musicianship, excellent songwriting and excellent vocals. Rhonda Vincent is bluegrass through and through. If you like good bluegrass, then this album is up there with the best. The cover- who cares. What matters is the great music inside.

This is worth a listen. Rhonda Vincent is one of the most talented musicians and surrounds herself in so much talent. The whole band individually is impressive; but, together fantastic. They are so worth seeing in person. Crisp, clear and better than any CD. I say....GO GIRL!

Rhonda says that the theme of the album is American, which is of course a fairly wide subject, but if she hadn't said so in her comments, I don't think I would have seen an obvious theme at all. Certainly, the title track fit's the theme, as do the two tracks about the military (God bless the soldier, Till they came home). Americans wrote the best train songs to be heard anywhere, but they are all oldies. The one here (Riding the wheels) is an Al Wood song from an album of his that Rhonda listened to as a child.

Elsewhere the songs may be relevant to Americans, but aren't specifically American, but the quality remains high. Rhonda duets with Dolly Parton on the upbeat Heartbreaker`s alibi, and with Bobby Osborne on Midnight angel.. There are several other excellent songs here including Forever ain't that long anymore and a cover of Charlie Louvin's interpretation of Precious jewel, the Roy Acuff classic.

Rhonda Vincent has a long and distinguished career in bluegrass music, and this album is just one among her many brilliant albums.

I love the song Midnight Angel which is why I purchased this recording, it also has some beautiful heartfelt songs giving thanks to our soldiers which make my tears flow every time, I can't sing them yet without my voice cracking into tears. Very pretty.

The Queen of Bluegrass strikes gold again!
With beautiful ballads like Forever Ain't That Long Anymore,Prettiest Flower There(so sweet) and the excellent Precious Jewel.Also included are 2 songs for the US soldiers God Bless The Soldier and Till They Come Home-both very touching.Other standouts is the fantastic Rhythm Of The Wheels,the ballad Midnight Angel feat Bobby Osborne and Don't Act.
Another gem of an album from Rhonda Vincent.You can't go wrong with this..