Customer Reviews

Road That Never Ends

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This refreshing, cutting edge bluegrass group really has put out a real masterpiece on this recording.
Recorded at "The Ark" in Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 26, 07. They came out smoking and never looked back. The crowd propels them thru this fifteen song set.
Just a terrific recording with a more than stellar performance. The first really great song is by their newest member Josh Shilling. The song is a great Vince Gill like ballad called "Who's The Fool Now?". This guy can sing and the band has a sweet hi lonesome sound. Van Cleve,(fiddle player) does a really nice crowd erupting fiddle solo. Josh has the crowd clapping halfway thru the song. Josh is a great new addition to the group with his vocals, guitar and piano playing.
"God and Everybody" is an upbeat bluegrass kicker with great vocals, mandolin chops, banjo and some really good harmonies.
"Devil's Courthouse" is a full blown instrumental at full speed with everyone contributing. Adam Steffey is excellent on mandolin taking a great lead as is Van Cleve playing great fiddle, the crowd is going nuts!! Wow!!
"Gospel Train" is a great traditional gospel tune. They do an odd background sound called the nose horn.
OK, now things change up and they do a bluesy song by Josh called "It Works Both ways" This is a great performance, once again by Josh, playing some excellent blues guitar with the rest of the group joining in sounding like an acoustic blues song. Barry is great at throwing in some comedy in between songs.
"Heart Like a Roadsign" - Josh sings lead on this refreshing upbeat bluegrass tune. Very good chorus melody and harmony singing.
"Whipping Post" - Josh takes on this Allman Brothers classic by himself with the help of a piano. It really comes out nice as he does a jazzy, bluesy version of this classic.Josh has a great voice and is overall a very talented musician.
"Mountain Man" This is sang by Adam Steffey, a very classic type bluegrass tune. One of their first hits.
Mountain Heart is Adam Steffey(vocals and mandolin), Josh Shilling(vocals, guitar and piano), Jim Van Cleve (fiddle, vocals and group leader), Barry Abernathy(banjo, vocals, comedian), Clay Jones (guitar) and Jason Moore (Bass and vocals).
This is definitely worth checking out. A very hot bluegrass group with a great recording.

This new guys voice is awesome. What a great idea to place him in this group. Those new to bluegrass will really enjoy this album! They are just as good in concert as well.

This band is one you don't want to miss. Vocally and instrumentally they have all the gifts and they know how to use them. They know how to bring the right amount of energy to each cut. Always pushing but never going too far. From the straight-up bluegrass of "Mountain Man", the high-speed "Heart Like a Roadsign", all the way to the solo piano and vocal of "Whipping Post" this album is an acoustic music lovers dream.

A breathe of fresh musical air. I was not disappointed at all nor will you. This album is amazing on many different levels. Josh Schilling is a true talent, with an amazing voice and excellent stage persona. There are many tracks on this album that make it worth having. Barn Dance #6 showcases the talents of the entire band. The Ark where the album was recorded is a very small venue; the input from the crowd is as though the album were recorded in a large stadium.

Given that bluegrass is basically a live musical form, the differences between studio and live albums are heard mostly in the feedback between band and audience, the flashes of energy this injects into the performance, and the arc of the set list. Playing tight is a bluegrass band's bread-and-butter, and something they hone year round at shows and festivals, so it's no surprise that Mountain Heart's jazz-and-jam take on bluegrass and string band sounds is both sharp as a tack and free enough to swing on stage.

The instrumentalists hot-pick their way through both "Road That Never Ends" and "I'm Just Here to Ride the Train," barreling along with all signals green, and the crowd roaring their approval as the flat-picks fly on mandolin and guitar. The track rhythms are reprised for the a capella gospel "The Gospel Train," with vocal percussion that harkens back to The Persuasions. Mountain Heart sings of men on the edge, on the lam and running headlong into dead ends, but even though they sing high and lonesome, the relentless energy of their playing keeps their songs from descending into truly desolate or sorrowful terrain.

The newest member of Mountain Heart, guitarist/pianist Josh Shilling slows things down for the moving country weeper "Who's the Fool Now," and comes to the fore again for his acoustic blues, "It Works Both Ways." Most impressive of all is his scat-jazz piano-solo take on the Allman Brothers classic "Whipping Post," though at 5'38 there's barely time for the audience to warm up their lighters. A pair of instrumentals, "#6 Barn Dance" and "Devil's Courthouse" further illuminate the band's chops, with the latter's interplay of fiddle and mandolin shining especially bright. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

Well, it was a long wait for the dealer to obtain a copy, but in my opinion... it was worth it. I had purchased the newest CD "That Just Happened" and their third release from Skaggs Family Records "Wide Open" a while back. The "Road That Never Ends" does not disappoint. This is one of the earliest projects featuring new member Josh Schilling performing the Gregg Allman song "Hitching Post", tearing up the vocals and the keyboards. It also features and is produced by one of today's finest fiddle players and writers... Jim Van Cleve.
Mountain Heart began as a gospel/bluegrass group, but has grown to include blues, rock, contemporary country, and jazz influences in their unique sound. Who knows, in another 10 years, they may become the 21st century version of The Eagles.

Road That Never Ends

This cd is fantastic. I heard this band play many of these songs live in a small venue with very good acoustics and they were wonderful -- and the cd does an excellent job of reproduction. MH's renditions of these songs - and of course their original tunes - demand repeated listening. They have a beautiful, bluegrassy way with gospel and rock (their "Whipping Post" is now my favorite version) that just grabs hold and doesn't let go.

I've only listened to this CD about 300 times or so. :) Love it. Musical talent flows out of these people in buckets and this CD showcases it with live atmosphere - what Mountain Heart does best. I've been a fan for years now and will continue to be for a lifetime I'm sure.

I just got back from seeing these guys at a festival here in NC and let me tell you.....THEY ROCK!!! This CD captures the essence of their current live performances but to get the full experience, well...you just have to be there! All are accomplished musicians capable of transgressing many styles beyond bluegrass, and their music encompasses elements of those styles, but they are still essentially bluegrass. Josh Shilling is an incredibly talented young singer and Jim Van Cleve is an absolutely stellar fiddle player who has been a major influence in bluegrass for a while now...and flatpickers don't come any better than Clay Jones (recently reunited with the band) but Barry Abernathy on banjo and vocals, Aaron Ramsey on mandolin (replaced Adam Steffey) and Jason Moore on upright bass also bring just as much to the table in their own right. I can't think of another band (bluegrass or otherwise) that puts together a more intense and completely entertaining live show. Go see them and you'll see what I mean! They are currently touring with Tony Rice who obviously shares my opinion.

These musicians are wonderful. The CD is great. If you get a chance to see them in person you should go.