Customer Reviews

Back Home Again

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a departure from her traditional roots Rhonda Vincent returns with quite an amazing recording. From first listen you realize that this women has one of the most distinctive and beautiful voices in bluegrass today. She actually makes this recording a family affair. Vincent's father, Johny, and her brother, Darrin, do quite a spectacular job with vocal harmonies. Vincents mandolin playing also shines through and shows this woman's complete versatility. Her interpretation of classics like Dollie Parton's "Jolene" and Jimmy Martin's "Pretending I Don't Care" are gems on this recording. Vincent has truly returned with Back Home Again, and shows once again that she is one of the most talented women in bluegrass.

With the new Rounder release "Back Home Again"; Rhonda is exactly that. After the middle 90's dab in Country Music, Rhonda has come home to her bread & butter. With the opening track "Lonesome Wind Blues", you can tell immediatly that this girl means business. Hard drivin' Bluegrass music at its best. There are of course, lighter or softer songs such as "Little Angels" & "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are." One song included here is called "Passing Of The Train" This song was first released off her 1993 CD "Written In The Stars" This version however, has a different feel to it. As Rhonda described it to me, "A Boogie Woogie" type of song. Her rendition of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", should make Dolly very proud. I have had the opportunity to see Rhonda live with her band "The Rage" They are just as good live as they are on this CD. My three favorite tracks are (1) "You're In My Heart"; (2) "You're Running Wild" & (3) "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are". Come to think of it, we are all very lucky to have Rhonda back in Bluegrass Music Full Time. And really, all the tracks on this CD are my favorites. Rhonda's time has come. She is destined for greatness & superstardom. Rhonda is definitely "Back Home Again." (5+ Stars)

One of 2000's best releases, Vincent's return to bluegrass after a foray into country shows her powerful, clear voice in its best light. Not that Vincent was a bad country singer -- she's a good one -- but she masters the nuances of bluegrass singing, and her performances have more impact for it. Where Alison Krauss and Dale Ann Bradley are ethereal, Vincent holds fire along with her clear tones. Her driving version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" is worth the price of admission alone, her conviction in the song's plea nearly stealing one of Dolly's best songs. But Vincent coveys a full range of emotion, from heartfelt (Carl Jackson's arresting "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are") to heartbreaking (the tale of child molestation's aftermath "Little Angels") to simple beauty (the Louvin Brothers' "Out of Hand"). And when Rhonda sings the unexpectedly high "All aboard!" note on "Passing of the Train," she drags your heart up and makes tears well in your eyes. Jon Weisberger's liner notes describe Vincent best: "Few . . . combine such command and finesse with open-throated power and an intensity of feeling that is almost shocking in its directness and candor." Back Home Again is a must-have for bluegrass, country, or Americana fans.

The most awesome collection of bluegrass songs on one CD! She has got the most brilliant and vibrant voice I have ever heard; and the harmonies with her brother Darrin are wonderful. "When I Close My Eyes" has become a personal favorite of mine. My only regret is that there is not enough mandolin featured on the songs. She plays beautifully. What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, CD! Worth 10 stars and more!

After several years of failing to squeeze her enormous talent through the narrow chute of Nashville country music stardom, Vincent's returned to her bluegrass roots with a superb new album. Nashville's loss is every bluegrass and country music fan's gain.

Vincent's full-throated vocals and tight family harmonies (courtesy of brother Darrin and father Johnny) are equally as fetching as her more-famous labelmate, Alison Krauss. And her band, The Rage, plus assorted bluegrass luminaries, hold their own with Krauss' Union Station.

Highlights include a wonderful father-daughter harmony on Ira Louvin's "Out of Hand," and a banjo and fiddle-driven arrangement of Dolly Parton's "Jolene." The latter is a real eye-opener, picking up the shuffling beat of Parton's original to a bluegrass canter, and showing off its mountain roots. The raw-nerve honesty of "Little Angels" and aching harmonies of "When I Close My Eyes" display the sort of soul upon which country music was once centered.

Such deep, emotional singing still turns up in Nashville on the odd Patty Loveless album track, but there's little room for it on the airwaves. Thankfully, Vincent's found a home where artistry is job number one.

Rhonda was raised on bluegrass music and began her recording career as a bluegrass singer before trying to break into mainstream country. Although the albums (Written in the stars, Trouble free) were of a high quality, Rhonda didn't make the breakthrough she was hoping for and returned to her beloved bluegrass music with this album. The only instruments on this album are bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and dobro. Apart from being a wonderful singer, Rhonda is an accomplished musician and plays most of the mandolin parts on this album. In this album, Rhonda explains how each song was selected. It seems that Rhonda had been familiar with most of the songs for many years before finally getting round to recording them.

The album is generally upbeat. Even the songs with sad lyrics, such as the opening Lonesome wind blues (which Rhonda learned from a Buck White album), are performed in a bright, upbeat style - hard-driving bluegrass at its best. Pretending I don't care (a cover of a Jimmy Martin song) is another example of an upbeat performance downplaying sad lyrics. While many of the songs are up-tempo, Rhonda can sing ballads too, as she demonstrates on When I close my eyes.

Rhonda is a huge fan of Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton and they are equally huge fans of Rhonda. On this album, Rhonda pays tribute to them by covering You're in my heart and Jolene. And if you're thinking you've heard Jolene way too often, Rhonda's version breathes new life into the song, which is ideally suited to bluegrass.

There are so many great songs here. The others I didn't mention are Little angels, Passing of the train, Out of hand, You don't know how lucky you are, Keep your feet on the ground, You're running wild. All of them are brilliant. If you enjoy bluegrass music, you will surely love this music and all of Rhonda's other albums.

Rhonda Vincent has been called the Queen of Bluegrass music and this first recording of this timely genre shows why she earned her name. It is simply startling that someone can identify so much with an idiom as Rhonda does on this first return. "Lonesome Wind Blues" will hook you immediately with her high and lonesome voice. "Keep Your Feet On The Ground" is another of those wonderful mid-tempo songs Vincent does so well. She even sings a number with her father on this CD. Glamor photo in the booklet as well as notes by Rhonda on her songs shows her to be an extremely thoughtful and glib personality. This comes with my highest recommendations!

An absolutely outstanding traditionalist bluegrass album! Soulful, restrained picking, great vocals, and a killer song selection! What more could you ask for? After several years trying to make it as a Nashville-r, Vincent has come into the acoustic fold, and the results are quite nice. Most of all, this album nails the feeling of live-wire immediacy that made the best old bluegrass so compelling. Includes an excellent version of Dolly Parton's greatest song ("Jolene"), along with material by Wayne Raney, Jimmy Martin and the Louvin Brothers. Believe me, this is a class act.

Awards don't always tell the whole story, but it is no coincidence that THIS CD was the most-decorated Bluegrass release of it's year. In most albums, even GOOD ones, there are a few cuts that are "clunkers". As a friend of mine remarked to me, this album has NO bad cuts - just "varying degrees of good." The instrumentalists are the best in the business. The harmonies are so beautiful and tight the hairs on the back of your neck will likely stand at attention. The chosen selections are great material. But the BEST thing about this CD is Rhonda Vincent's crystal-clear and evocative vocals. When was the last time an album so impressed hard-to-please die-hard Bluegrass fans? You can't think of one either?

This her first release with a new label Rounder Records, has captured the energy and heart of this amazing talent, who by the way plays drums, mandolin and any other string instrument that is just lying around...and bluegrass is what she loves best, and when she plays...your in for the treat of your life.

Like her label-mate at Rounder Alison Krauss, Rhonda began playing at a very young age with her Father and Grandfather the Sally Mountain Show performing at various county festivals and fairs...the training ground that has given her the title "The New Queen of Bluegrass", she is a credit to bluegrass with 18 albums under her belt...remember the song "Somebody", from her "Trouble Free" album, knew she was going to be big someday.

The opening track "LONESOME WIND BLUES", draws you into the music, right off..."PRETENDING I DON'T CARE", says it all..."WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES", wonderful lyrics that will capture your heart...each song will allow you to see Rhonda in a different light, but one thing is certain...her light always shines bright. ...