Customer Reviews

Little by Little

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

 

 

It's hard to imagine tighter harmonies, except possibly the Everly Brothers. April and Beth deliver a set of great tunes. (April is of course not the April Stevens who did "Deep Purple" with Nino Tempo in the 60s!) The whole project was carefully put together from the song selection to the musicians to the arrangements. The CD opens with the title track, a midtempo toe tapper. The melody kind of slinks on "Walk On By," "Baby, I won't cry." "Tuesday's Gone" is a pretty ballad with Sam Bush's fiddle, "My baby's gone with the wind." Mike Henderson's toe tapper "Wherever You Are" has a classic sound; Sam Bush goes crazy on mandolin during the bridge. You won't find more magnificent harmonies than those on the pretty melody of "Lonesome Wind." "Yours In Tennessee" has a soft melody, "If you want a love that's ture & tender, remember your girl in Tennessee." "Run to the Well" is a great Kim Richey tune about putting a fire out, "I do believe the Lord helps those who help themselves." Tony Arata's song "Love Every Time" is beautiful with Gary Davis' bluesy guitar and Gary Smith tinkling the piano ivory. "I'll Never Say Goodbye" is a slow Dolly tune with Parton's gorgeous supporting vocals. My favorite track is another Kim Richey song with Sam Bush's mandolin percolating on "Those Words We Said," "I could drive a million miles & never drive them from my head." "If I'm Gonna Be Lonely" is a gorgeous melody that you could almost hear Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris joining in spirit. Mike Henderson's slide guitar stars on the Barry & Holly Tashian tune "Don't Kneel At My Graveside." This is one of the most pleasant sets you'll hear in bluegrass/country music. The sisters have put together a memorable set! Enjoy!

.... it would be the Stevens Sisters.

This is my first exposure to the Sisters and I am way impressed. The harmonies are as tight as they can get and their voices are excellent. One is smooth the other a little gravelly and togethor they provide that quintessential mountain music sound.

While I would always rather my singers write their own songs this is frequently not the case. Regardless of who pens the words, the writing on this offering is superb.

Example: "Those words we said":
"I left here with nothing but a few tears in my eyes.
Now I'm halfway down the interstate past highway 99.
It's just me and one good wiper blade, up against the rain..."
or
"No matter how hard I try I can't get far enough away.
Every sad song on my radio sounds like its custom made,
by some devil on my shoulder that keeps whisperin' in my ear..."

(I love this song -- my favorite on the disc.)

As for the music, the Stevens Sisters play quite a few different instruments: guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobrobanjo (I don't even know what a dobrobanjo is) and they do a fine fine job of it.

I am definitely going to explore prior releases from these folks.

The Stevens Sisters cd Little by little is truely great. I had a hard time to track down their cd. Amazon.ca is the only Canadian dealer that could help me. I play this cd almost every day. Can't wait until their next release. Their music is more of a country bluegrass bringing it to a whole new level. Great job girls.

If there was perfect justice in the world, the Steven Sisters' brilliant "Little by Little" (and their equally terrific 1996 album, "Sisters") would garner all the raves in country music and the airbrushed fakes who plague us would be scrambling for record contracts and airplay. With an ear for great tunes, a genius for lush and supple harmonies and the good sense to avoid musical cliches and the dreaded pigeon-holing effect, April and Beth Stevens stand head and shoulders above the nonsense that seeps out of mainstream Nashville these days. From the kicky title track to their gentle and moving cover of Lynard Skynard's "Tuesday's Gone" to the harrowing "Don't Kneel at My Graveside" and everything in between, this is where "country" music truly lives.

The Stevens sisters' shimmering harmonies are a crystal-clear Godsend to Music Row's Faiths and Shanias. This is East Tennessee bluegrass in it's purest, modern form, with lightning-fast picking, soft-as-rain brush percussion, from-the-heart harmonies which raise your hair as only siblings can do, and writing which includes jaw-dropping ballads alongside toe-tapping uptempo rockabilly-sounding gems. Don't miss this train.

This is Beth and April's second album. The first was so long ago that I'd given up hope of a second - but it was worth the wait. Their music is rooted in bluegrass and traditional country, but there are other influences in there too. Don't panic - they never stray far from their roots, so there's no crossover music here.

These brilliant sisters were originally inspired by hearing Dolly sing, so it must have been a dream come true for them when Dolly sang backup on one of the cuts here, a cover of Dolly's I'll never say goodbye - Dolly's original version can be found on Hungry again. More recently, Beth and April sang backup on Dolly's Halos and Horns.

There are a lot of other covers here, but nothing that's been over-recorded. Kim Richey and Shawn Camp get in with two songs each, while Beth and April do an amazing version of Tuesday's gone. I don't think Lynyrd Skynyrd (who wrote it) ever imagined it could sound like this.

One of my favorites is Wherever you are. This song was written by Mike Henderson, but I first heard it on Joy Lynn White's debut album, Between Midnight and Hindsight.

There is at least one original here - Yours in Tennessee - but none of the covers are straight copies of the original. Beth and April always find a way to make each song their own.

This is an outstanding album from two East Tennessee natives who are well capable of carrying on the tradition of great country and bluegrass music.

If you like deep rooted progressive bluegrass---then this album "Little By Little" is in the realm of "O Brother Where Art Thou", taking you up into the mountains where the music is clear, clean and is loaded with melody. Beth and April Stevens give harmony the blue ribbon treatment, letting all of us in their tightly knit circle of talent between sisters.

Stand outs include ~ "LITTLE BY LITTLE", great vocals by Beth, April and their father Douglas Stevens with shades of Alison Krauss & Union Station, create one of the most distinctive sounds I've heard in a long time, harmony is right on. "WALK ON BY", hits the mark---perfectly. Even the composer/artist Dolly Parton shows up for her "I'LL NEVER SAY GOODBYE", put together a family outing performance with the sisters, dad and yes, even Dolly joins in the fun.

The Stevens Sisters bring good ole time bluegrass back to the fold---this is the way country music was when I was growing up. Play this album often, the more you hear it---the more you realize that mountain music is back and going strong.

Total Time: 43:31 on 12 Tracks ~ Rounder Records 11661-0446-2 ~ (2002)