Company We Keep

Del McCoury | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mccoury Music
• ASIN: B0009S2TC0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,568 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though the Del McCoury Band has earned renown for its wide-ranging repertoire--drawing from the rock, blues, and folk songbooks for its bluegrass adaptations--The Company We Keep finds the revered vocalist sticking close to his musical roots. McCoury's songwriting collaborations provide autobiographical highlights, from the eternal innocence of "Never Grow Up Boy" to the age-old wisdom of "If Here's Where You Are" ("then here's where you're supposed to be"). Del and his band, including sons Ronnie (mandolin, co-producer) and Rob (banjo), survey a bluegrass range that extends from the Appalachian strains of "Mountain Song" to the instrumental romp through Ronnie's "Seventh Heaven" to the deeply spiritual gospel of "I Never Knew Life." Best of all is the album's centerpiece, "Fathers and Sons," which finds the family band harmonizing on the bonds of blood. While the shifting time signatures of the opening "Nothing Special" serve notice that the music won't be bound by tradition, the album serves to celebrate that tradition and extend it. --Don McLeese

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A full-speed-ahead band packed with vocal and instrumental energy and excitement, August 4, 2005

By 

J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Company We Keep (Audio CD)

Playing Time - 51:37 -- It's difficult to maintain your place when you're already on top. Everyone's been wondering how the Del McCoury Band would follow the album "It's Just the Night," that won IBMA's Album of the Year Award for 2004. The very first item you notice about The Del McCoury Band's "The Company We Keep" (the second on their own McCoury Music label, distributed exclusively by Sugar Hill Records) is the high quality production of the 12-page fold out CD jacket with liner notes, numerous color photos, and lyrics to all songs on this generous 52-minute project. First impressions and marketing ARE important! While the music always takes priority, it's great to see their record company not skimp on the rest of the product. Del and the Boys have never been content to merely rest on their laurels. Rather, they've always been strong proponents of giving their fans 125% whether it be in live concert or on compact disc. That's the attitude that Del conveys when he sings his original (co-written with Harley Allen) "Never Grow Up Boy" about being a "guitar pickin', bluegrass singing, never grow up boy" whose dreams "can set men free." Del and Harley also wrote "Keep Her While She's There." Del also collaborated with Don Schlitz on "If Here is Where You Are." Ronnie McCoury's instrumental "Seventh Heaven" is top-notch.

The Del McCoury Band is also a full-speed-ahead band packed with vocal and instrumental energy and excitement. One song in ¾ time (When Fall's Coming Down) provides its nice contrasting rhythmic beat at track eleven. They keep their music upbeat and distinctive as they deliver the bluegrass goods written by such songcrafters as Mark Walton, Joseph New & Jeff Silbar, Larry Keel, Liz Meyer, Gary Nicholson, Jeff & Dean Presley, Jerry Salley & Susanne Mumpower-Johnson, Mark Simos & Jon Weisberger. We have to thank these writers for some very cool songs that bring out the best in this band! We have to thank the Del McCoury Band for being some of the hardest working musicians in the bluegrass business, and for being meticulous with all the details that come with the fame. Not just great entertainers, the band members are truly highly credible and professional emissaries for the genre. In eight years, McCoury's been IBMA's Entertainer of the Year. "The Company We Keep" pays tribute and expresses gratitude to all friends, family and team members who have helped make them what they are. The CD's back cover shows Del's grandkids at the head of the table and indicates that the McCoury bluegrass tradition is in very good hands. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is how to do it!, July 19, 2005

By 

John A. Gregorio (Castalian Springs, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Company We Keep (Audio CD)

The same arguments plaque bluegrass over tradition , new grass or other hybrids. For me there is room for it all. The Del Mccoury Band has always maintained a balance between the old and new in both arrangements and songs chosen. In the award arena, I have heard fellow bluegrass fans state "They won another one, what about the other great bands." The fact is the Del Mccoury Band continues to maintain a standard of excellence sustained by few.
This cd is no exception. Its all there, great playing, arrangements devoid of musical cliches, and five star song. What else could anyone want?

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McCoury continues to please, August 29, 2005

By 

C. L. Shields (Danville, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Company We Keep (Audio CD)

Del McCoury and the boys continue to deliver with "The Company We Keep." When you combine some of the most talented musicians in the country with one of the most distinctive voices, how can you go wrong? Anyone with a penchant for bluegrass will be pleased with this cd.