Customer Reviews

One More for the Road

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

 

 

Grammy® winning mandolinist Adam Steffey is best known for his tenures with Union Station and Mountain Heart, and his current gig in the Dan Tyminski band. On this second solo album he's surrounded himself with bandmates past and present, showcasing not only their instrumental prowess, but their harmony as vocalists. Surprisingly, given his years as a sideman, Steffey is both an interesting baritone lead vocalist and a canny band leader. Rather than crafting a showcase for his sizeable instrumental talent, he's pulled together friends for sessions that trade off between fiery hot-picked solos and ensemble playing, solo lead vocals and close harmonizing, and original and cover tunes. The result is less a stage-center spotlight for Steffey himself than a group effort reflecting his lengthy experience as a musician.

Alison Krauss sings the bluegrass classic "Warm Kentucky Sunshine," but despite the beautiful, instantly identifiable singularity of her voice (and a harmony from Dan Tyminski), the result isn't an Alison Krauss track. Similarly for Tyminski's lead on "Let Me Fall," on which Steffey, Ron Stewart and Stuart Duncan trade solos on mandolin, banjo and fiddle. Steffey sings three-part harmony with Barry Bales and Ronnie Bowman on "A Broken Heart Keeps Beatin'," and a cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" is sung slowly and beautifully. Steffey's musicality informs this album, making it a subtle, but quite gratifying "solo" release. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Adam Steffey
"One More For The Road"
(Sugar Hill, 2009)
----------------------------------
A nice blend of bluegrass, country and singer-songwriter folk, featuring the mandolin work and gruff, old-timer vocals of Adam Steffey, a former member of Alison Krauss's Union Station band. Krauss puts in an appearance (on "Warm Kentucky Sunshine") and Steffey is joined by several other Union Stationeers, including Ron Block, Barry Bales and Dan Tyminski, along with a slew of other top-flight, high-power bluegrass superpickers. Steffey is a gracious host, showing dazzling strengths as a soloist, but completely willing to give his pals the spotlight for much of the record. He also contributes three original songs, which perfectly compliment the mix of oldies (covers of Red Allen and Kris Kristofferson) with a bunch of fine contemporary tunes. A very solid album showcasing diverse styles, but rooted in straightahead traditional bluegrass -- rock solid and recommended! (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Country Music)

Steffi plays clean and fast. The band is tight. Tunes are both traditional and edgy.

Adam Steffey is in my opinion, one of the best mandolin players. He plays in a very different style than, say, Ronnie McCoury, but in the style he plays in he is really one of the best. This album has no clunkers. The musicians he has picked to record this album with are all top-notch players and the whole showcase really shines. I have been listening to this nonstop for at least a month now because there's so much to take in and absorb. The musicianship, the obvious playing off of each other all add up into one delicious album that should be in anyone's collection. Buy this-you won't be disappointed!! It really is top-notch!

From the first time I heard these two songs on sat Bluegrasss radio, I had to have them. I am glad I bought them. Fantastic jams. I am a fledgeling banjo player and the hrad driving and jam like sounds really draw me and I love the melodies.

Cheers

Adam Steffey is a powerhouse mandolin player who has been around for quite awhile, playing lots of sessions and currently in Dan Tyminski's band. Steffey was also in Alison Krauss's Union Station for a number of years. In fact, this CD is as close as you will get to a Krauss-like CD this year, as the rest of her band, Union Station, except for Jerry Douglas are on this CD.

One More For The Road is a very well done and thought out album with the solid sound of a modern bluegrass CD. Produced by Gary Paczosa, my favorite acoustic music recording engineer, who is also doing A and R work for Sugar Hill Records. So Sugar Hill Records is releasing this for Steffey. This is Steffey's second solo CD, his first titled Grateful, was released in 2002.

Steffey sings five songs on this disc, plus you will find four instrumentals and 3 guest singers including, Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman and Alison Krauss.

One More For The Road was recorded in producer Gary Paczosa's studio. The band is for the most part consists of Randy Kohrs on dobro, Ron Block on guitar and banjo , Dan Tyminski on guitar and vocals, Barry Bales on bass, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Sutton's wife Tina on clawhammer banjo. If you are a bluegrass lover, this will be familiar to you and a delight.

"Deep Rough" is a fast paced instrumental track which opens up the CD, a great bluegrass jam with the best players. This is very melodic and not repetitive.

The title track is a great song by Josh Shilling and Craig Market.

"One More For The Road" is one I really like, a haunting melody with some good harmony and Dobro.

"Warm Kentucky Sunshine" with Alison Krauss singing is a beautiful bluegrass ballad that sounds like the Alison we all know. Makes you wonder, will we ever hear Alison and Union Station together on an album again? There is plenty of great bluegrass around these days, I'm not saying she wouldn't be missed, she would. Krauss has been singing with Union Station for so long, and they are the best bluegrass group, in my opinion, and you can hear that here on this album. What a great mix of talent.

A song that I really due to the groove it creates is Ronnie Bowman singing "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends" written by Kris Kristofferson. This is as good as any thing I have heard in bluegrass this year. So if you like the AKUS style of bluegrass, you need to get One More For The Road.