Customer Reviews

Good News

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Playing Time - 39:05 -- Charlie Sizemore has always been an overachieving Renaissance man. In 1977 (at only age 17), the Kentuckian's first big challenge was filling Keith Whitley's shoes as guitarist and lead singer with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. During his nine years with Stanley, he established a strong and credible reputation as one of the band's top lead singers. In 1986, Charlie formed his own group and returned to school "to learn" at the University of Kentucky where he subsequently graduated with honors. The hard worker is known as the only bluegrassers to both play the Grand Ole Opry and deliver a college commencement address all in the same year. Sizemore today is a family man who also maintains a successful law practice and fronts his own band with a style that "straddles a line between mountain bluegrass and modern country." His debut on the prestigious Rounder label, "Good News" is just that - a set of stirring music that causes us to rejoice and cheer his re-emergence on record after a five year hiatus.

The first impression I gathered about "Good News" is about how all the chosen songs deal with a man's tender interactions and touching relationships with other people, objects, and personal thoughts. The album begins and ends with reflective personal statements. Songs like "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" and "I Won't Be Far from Here" reveal the emotional honesty of someone opening up to bear one's soul. At the end of the set, "My Dying Day" and "Good News When I Die" provide two different dichotomous perspectives on life's passing. During the course of the set, Sizemore revisits the album's theme with Eddie Noack's "No Blues is Good News" about the happy feelings of a successful, loving relationship. That tune conveys a different kind of mood than feeling like a stone thrown to the "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart," a song which could've been arranged in a higher key to perhaps infuse it with more fervent energy. Sizemore also sings stories about a paternal relationship (Devil on a Plow) and a playful bluegrass musical association with the members of "Alison's Band."

His nostalgic song recalling the homeplace is Paul Craft's "Mama Turn Aloosa My Soul" that hastens back to a place in the country, just a single-board shack. Raised on Kentucky's Puncheon Creek, Charlie's own Civil War song (co-written with Tom T. and Dixie Hall) tells a poignant story of "The Silver Bugle" calling the boys back home. Another song from the Halls, "Whiskey Willie" is a bouncing ballad of a character who lived in that same time period and kept the soldiers half-drunk for a very poignant reason revealed at the end of the tale. In a more contemporary time, a rowdy drunk has an easy excuse for his wrongdoings, just "Blame it on Vern." Ron Workman's "Hey Moon" provides an opportunity for Matt DeSpain's lead vocals to have a conversation with that lunar body. It's a good snappy song that illuminates the set. "Hey moon, Won't you come on out tonite / Shine down with your halo so bright / Hey moon, while I hold my baby tight / Won't you light up her smile and come on out tonight?"

Sizemore collaborated with the album co-producer Buddy Cannon to pen a song about a dependence on the bottle, "The Less That I Drink." It would've been nice for the band to present a hard-driving uptempo instrumental showcase, and some of Charlie's material really seems to beg for some fiddle in the mix. Those are minor criticisms, however, and this band has powerful vocal and instrumental prowess. Besides Charlie, the group includes Danny Barnes (mandolin, clawhammer banjo, vocals), Matt DeSpain (Dobro, Hawaiian guitar, vocals), Wayne Fields (banjo) and John Pennell (bass). All in all, "Good News" is a very enjoyable and notable album that broadcasts the music of a very happening band that is making waves. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

The Charlie Sizemore Band has put together a new album after five years. The new release is due on the streets August 14. Ron Thomason of the Dry Branch Firesquad, wrote the liner notes and says "Charlie Sizemore is back, singing and writing bluegrass music. He's better than ever..." That, is an understatement!! I've been listening to this album over and over again. This is one of the finest collections of lively bluegrass that I've encountered for a while now. Maybe being away from bluegrass is a good thing because this album has a unique character, lively presence and original presentation. There's nothing not to like here. Thomason also says, "This CD is filled with the stuff that demands your attention -- makes you listen. Don't try to operate dangerous machinery or start your taxes while Charlie is singing. You'll just get hurt." Among the humor, there is a bit of truth to this statement. You'll need to set yourself down and take a hard listen to this release. You'll be glad you did. There are the sole reaching songs like "Blame It on Vern" or "Devil on a Plow." Ballad stories like "The Silver Bugle" are here and a familiar "I've fallen and I Can't Get Up" are here too. Then there's a song about "Alison's Band" referring to Alison Krauss and Union Station. You get some Tom T. Hall material and rightly so as the album was recorded in Tom T. and Dixie Hall's studio in Franklin, TN. If this were a black vinyl LP of days gone past, the album would be a Slinky by now. It's been played, replayed and played again. We waited for five years for this event. We can wait a few more weeks for the album to hit the streets. It will be worth the wait! This is a well rounded album that will surely get your attention. Bob Cherry, CYBERGRASS

A rock-solid bluegrass set from singer-guitarist Charlie Sizemore, known in his teens as the kid who sang lead in Ralph Stanley's band after Keith Whitley split for Nashville, and now a forty-something tunesmith revered as a songwriter of high standing in both the country and bluegrass fields. This is Sizemore's first album in five years, and fans are well-primed for its delights... Like many great craftsman, Sizemore appreciates the work of others, and in addition to several of his own fine compositions, and here he includes gems from Hank Cochran, Paul Craft, Tom T. Hall, three songs co-written with Nashville legend Buddy Cannon and a hillbilly boogie oldie from Eddie Noack. There are songs about the Civil War, drinking, love lost and life lived, and a hilarious tribute song, "Alison's Band" (where Sizemore fantasizes about hitting the road with bluegrass diva Alison Krauss...) All in all, this is a fine offering from an old pro -- hopefully it won't take so long for the next one to come out! (DJ Joe Sixpack)

Outstanding! I just can't stop listening to it. Charlie has outdone himself..., AGAIN! Charlie's rich vocals are icing on the cake to his fantastic songwriting skills. I didn't heed the advice about not operating machinery or driving and instead listened to the CD for the first time on my way back home from a bluegrass event. The first three songs are great and then I fell into the memory evoking lyrics of "Devil on a Plow" and after I finally quit hitting the back button to re-listen to the track (this took a while) I ran into "Alison's Band" and I just couldn't quit smiling. Then came the rock solid melody of "Whiskey Willie" and by now I'm hooked and I can't wait to hear the rest, still smiling when I heard "The Less That I Drink" I couldn't help but laugh out loud (Wife didn't give me a kind look at first but did smile herself after a while). (The lyrics briefly remind me of John Prine's "Other Side of Town" as I grin while I listen) By now I'm totally involved in trying to avoid an accident as I drive while looking at the CD case and listening to the haunting "The Silver Bugle", by the time I reach the delicious chord changes in "My Dying Day" I'm sitting in the driveway at home and I have refused to leave the truck until I finish the CD. Wife left me in the truck for the bathroom a song ago and I didn't even notice!
"Good News" proves it's true, some things only get better with age and Charlie Sizemore is one of them.
This album is a must have for your bluegrass collection and it's one of the Bluegrass Connection Show's 2007 picks for "Best New Album".
Chris Fullerton (Fixer)
Bluegrass Connection Show

One of the great things about Bluegrass is that personal connections are essential to the music. Where stadium rock and pop concerts are highly choreographed and the performers often fly in and out with minimal fan contact, the typical bluegrass experience is much more genuine. Players use music as a flexible language to interact with other players and fans alike. The music isn't so much a performance as an expression of the realities of life, including joys and sorrows and everything in between.

Charlie Sizemore embodies the Bluegrass spirit as much as anyone. After just now hearing Charlie sing "Cry From the Cross" on my cable bluegrass station, I had to check to see if the song "Alison's Band" from Charlie's 2007 Good News CD had won any awards. I knew the song was number 1 on the charts for a while, so I'm surprised that a google search didn't turn up any major awards for the song. Th awards don't really matter much, though. What matters more to me are the connections Charlie made with me.

The Sizemore band played in Minneapolis over a year ago, and I was lucky enough to see the show. Two moments stand out. In the weeks before the show I had become enamored with Charlie's 2002 cover of the Tom T. Hall song "I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew." During the break I asked Charlie if they were going to do that song during the second set. He hardly remembered the song, and said it wasn't on their set list. Then he went back to his bus with the band (who had never performed the song) and worked out a version to play right after the intermission. What a treat! The other memorable moment was when Charlie was on stage talking about balancing his law practice with playing music. He said something to the effect that his best day of practicing law was hardly better than his worst day of playing music. With a love of music like his, I believe him.

I love the song and found out, I also enjoyed the singer. Charlie Sizemore is Bluegrass!!!