Help My Brother

Gibson Brothers | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: February 22, 2011
• Label: Compass Records
• Total Length: 41:43
• Genres:
  • Country > Bluegrass
• ASIN: B004LTZKA6
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,445 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A CD WITH A PURPOSE - HELP MY BROTHER March 3, 2011

By James P. Bourey

Format:Audio CD

Last month I started a review of the great new album "Help My Brother" from The Gibson Brothers. This band is as good as it gets in bluegrass. In fact when it comes to making music that can be appreciated, understood and enjoyed these guys cross the boundaries of genre. The original review was a song by song kind of thing. But today I was listening once again to the album and I decided that I was taking the wrong approach. Besides, Eric Gibson can do a much better job on the track by track insights.

So I thought about this album. Then I thought about how this album fits into the body of work that the brothers have produced and recorded. I thought about how their work fits into the greater body of bluegrass, country music and so called Americana music. That's a lot of thinking, I know, but I've drawn some impressions now that I feel, in my humble poetic heart, should be shared.

One of the finest gifts we have received from the Creator, as humans, is the ability to make music. And the extra blessing that we've gotten is the fine folks that make music really, really well. There are all kinds of musicians making all kinds of music. Our tastes are not all the same but most people, when they hear a talented musician doing his or her job in a special way, react very positively. If I hear a fine classical orchestra I feel the power of that art. If I hear an excellent steel drum band the result can be the same. And so it goes. When I hear the new album from The Gibson Brothers I know I'm hearing a real gift, one that is part of the original from the Big Giver.

In my life I've dabbled in music. On a couple of occasions I was able to play well enough with some other musicians so that I felt the special joy that comes from the experience.... That joy, which is another part of the gift of music, shines like a sunny day in July when Eric and Leigh Gibson and their band start playing. And that joy grabs the hearts of listeners and, for a little while, brings them to a better place. It is no small thing.

The Gibson Brothers know the important stuff, the stuff that needs to be in the music we want to hear. They know we want songs like "Safe Passage", "Dixie", "Arleigh", "Iron and Diamonds" and others that hold the stories of our heritage and the paths we have followed, personally and as a people. They know we need songs of love and emotion like "Talk to Me", "Just Lovin' You", "Forever Never Ends" and so many more that express the universal passions, struggles and joys that most of us share on our journeys. And those inspirational songs that the band does so well "He Can Be Found", "Singin' As We Rise", "The Lighthouse" and dozens of others bring us to a place where we can be reminded of the many important things necessary to our real purpose here in this world. And they also know how to bring fun into every kind of song they perform. It is a joyful noise for sure.

Now I've said my piece. "Help My Brother" is a special recording. It has wisdom and joy. It has emotion and humor. It has heritage and spirituality. But mostly it is just excellent music from some wonderful, immensely talented folks; Eric and Leigh Gibson, Mike Barber, Clayton Campbell and Joe Walsh. And just for good measure they've brought along Ricky Skaggs, Claire Lynch, Alison Brown and Mike Witcher to add to the joy. Buy it. You'll be awful glad you did. Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping bluegrass not just alive, but fresh... February 22, 2011

By William E. Adams

Format:Audio CD

My wife and I bought this CD on Feb. 12, ten days before its official release, at a concert by the Gibson Brothers for the nationwide "Live on Stage" venue (the old "Community Concerts" organization that specialized in bringing professional music to small and medium communities via advance season ticket sales.) I had heard an earlier release of theirs, "Ring the Bells" but was only mildly impressed. I thought their pickin' was great, vocals less so. However, seeing them perform live with their three instrumental partners made me realize just how good Eric and Leigh Gibson really are. And the new disc seems to have stronger vocals, even better playing, and an overall stronger song selection than "Ring the Bells." I have been only a casual fan of Bluegrass over the past 50 years, buying, in all those decades, only perhaps a half-dozen LP's, tapes or CD's that fit the style. The Gibson Brothers could easily have created a show that paid tribute to the great bluegrass stylists of the past 50 years, and to traditional country, mountain and Gospel tunes that sound good with bluegrass instruments and harmonies. Surely, however, that would bore these fine performers. They write new songs, and do some of the classics in their distinctive arrangements, and thus gave the Midland Texas audience a very fine show. And in "Help My Brother" they have put a high-quality album on the market. If you are reading this, yet haven't seen these guys perform or heard them on CD, this is a good starting point.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Help My Brother June 13, 2011

By Choirboy

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Best Album yet for the Gibson Brothers.. They just keep developing and evolving. I can't find a song on this album that is not worthy of top rating status. Best harmony in Bluegrass or any music for that matter.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's All Right with Me: Every Song from Help My Brother Delivers September 10, 2011

By John Saroyan

Format:MP3 Music

The Gibson Brothers keep besting themselves by following principles I imagine they used playing baseball: throwing strikes, playing a tough infield, getting on base, advancing the runner, and never letting up.

The title track on their latest album, Help my Brother, springs forth with the optimism and hope that The Open Road did on their 2003 release, Bona Fide. Joe Walsh brings the same lustrous mandolin tone to the band that Marc MacGlashan did in the early oughts. The bass run Leigh lays down in Waking West to Memphis is perfect for the prodigal narrator looking to mend his ways. At the end of the last verse Mike Barber walks the line with him.

Dixie's imagery of an Elvis the world never knew is riveting. Frozen in Time must appeal to all us "dinosaurs," purchasing CD's and pining for covers of Louvin Brothers' and Jim and Jesse McReynolds' songs. Both Eric and Leigh's melodies have the easy likeability of pop music, but instead of becoming tiresome after multiple listens, my brain only wants more. He Can Be Found adds another spectacular song from the Louvins' catalogue to the Gibsons'.

As he should, Eric kicks off Joe Newberry's uplifting Singing as We Rise, with a Stanley-inspired banjo introduction. Pitched in the key of B, the song reminds me of Somebody Touched Me. Multiple nods to Dr. Ralph bands of the early 1970's include the arrangement of voices in the chorus, Barber's propelling and uninterrupted line of fifths, Clayton's channeling of old-time bluegrass fiddler Curly Ray Cline and inclusion of former Stanley pupil, now icon, Ricky Skaggs.

Want vs. Need sounds as if Leigh is using a combination of flatpick and fingerpicking to great effect, as he does on the Mountain Song from Long Way Back Home.... In his hands, the archtop exhales the chords at the beginning of Talk to Me, while the singer pleads for a re-connection with his lover and friend. Alison Brown and Joe Walsh's instruments exchange tender musings until Clayton's fiddle soars and lands. Claire Lynch lets out a beautifully plaintive response.

With biting harmonies and bluesy instrumentals, One Car Funeral arrives. Eric and Leigh's dialed-in responsiveness to one another's lilt and diction convey the words of the chorus as in step as the underappreciated Just an Old Rounder from Ring the Bell.

After my son goes to sleep, and Just Lovin' You comes round on the stereo, I think my wife and I both purr like cats from our perches on the sofa. It's that good. The brisk and demanding I'll Love Nobody But You is a song Eric and Leigh started singing in high school. Good thing. I got lightheaded just trying to figure out what notes they hit in their harmonies. Safe Passage, Leigh's tale of Gibson family history up to the present day, ends with a rare glimpse into his own life as a musician and son.

Bluegrass devotees will argue whether Eric and Leigh are "the best" of the brother duets of all time. Their legacy as one of the finest is without question. Help My Brother will earn the Gibson Brothers more accolades, devoted fans and appreciation as songwriters, individual musicians, and most importantly, as a team. Read more ›