Customer Reviews

Pinecastle Christmas Gathering

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A swell holiday offering by some of best, most hearfelt indie bluegrass artists of the Pinecastle label's stable. Michelle Nixon, Larry Stephenson, David Parmley, Charlie Waller and others are included, drawing on material off of several albums recorded between 1996-2003, with most of the material apparently recorded just for this album. The highlights are two zippy instrumentals, "Frosty The Snowman" as done by Scott Vestal and his pals, and a version of "O, Come All Ye Faithful," featuring Ross Nickerson with some sweet banjo licks. Nice stuff!

So who says that "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful" can't be interpreted and played as a hard-driving instrumental bluegrass breakdown as Ross Nickerson does? But let's not forget that the song was originally written as a lyrical calling to behold and adore the king of angels, Christ the Lord. Bluegrass instruments work well for Christmas music, and back in 1994, Pinecastle Records released a successful compilation project called "Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas" (PRC-1030). Now, Pinecastle's 2003 latest gift, "A Pinecastle Christmas Gatherin'" is a pleasant hour-long holiday sampler to get you in the mood for decorating the tree and wrapping presents by the fireplace. The 18 tracks were recorded between 1996-2003 and include new versions of standards (like Charlie Waller's "White Christmas" and Larry Stephenson's "Away in a Manger"), as well as plenty of mostly interesting original material.

Apparently, most of the label's current artists were asked to each record and contribute a song or two to the project. The list of those featured reads like a who's who of bluegrass.....including, among others, Aubrey Haynie, Wildfire, Josh Williams, Wayne Benson, Larry Stephenson, Jesse McReynolds, Michelle Nixon, Sally Jones, Charlie Waller, Jim Hurst, Missy Raines, Nothin' Fancy, Ross Nickerson, Village Singers, Eddie and Martha Adcock, David Parmley, Special Consensus, and WhiteHouse. Favorite cuts are actually some of the slower numbers, Wildfire's rendition of "There's a New Kid in Town," The Village Singers' "A Carpenter, A Mother and a King" and Eddie and Martha Adcock's "One Starry Night."

Each cut on "A Pinecastle Christmas Gatherin'" has individual strengths in its own right. There's plenty of tight harmony and solid straightforward bluegrass picking. Only two instrumentals are offered ("Frosty the Snowman" and "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful"), and many of the numbers are uptempo secular offerings like "Christmas in the Mountains." While some may view it as a strength, the album's variety could actually weaken it within the overall program's context. Any holiday sampler with so many different artists has the potential to easily lose something in continuity and thematic presentation. I can't help but wish that a few more gospel offerings had been chosen to emphasize messages about the true spiritual meaning of Christmas. And I might have at least ordered the songs differently to have a very strong opener and closer that conveyed celebratory messages about the birth of Jesus. Despite this observation, there are consistently good performances on the project. Bluegrass fans looking for a concept album for the holidays will definitely find something to their liking on this sampler. Nine short bonus tracks at the album's conclusion include greetings from some of the featured artists, and I think that the Village Singers say it best, "Let's remember the reason for the season." I wish that even more of this sampler's music would have done the same. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)