The Spirit of St. Louis

Joe Ross (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Zephyr
• ASIN: B000JGG7WK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,106,227 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Ross: The Spirit of St. Louis, October 27, 2006

By 

Joseph E. Falletta "Joe Falletta" (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spirit of St. Louis (Audio CD)

There's a lot to like about this latest effort from Joe Ross. Eleven new original songs cover everything from stirring Gospel, to songs about logging, Mom, Oregon (where Joe calls home), love, even fowl, and, as the title implies, Charles Lindbergh's epic flight across the Atlantic.
Al Brinkerhoff's melodious resophonic guitar kicks things off very appealingly on the lively "The Logger's Song," vividly illustrating the life of an Oregon woodsman. "The River In Oregon" is a tribute to the rivers and tributaries, "the lifeblood of the land...please take care of them," Joe writes in the liner notes. "One Legged Turkey," a clever, upbeat instrumental, was written in memory of an actual wild turkey that hung around for a while on the roof of Joe's home. "Mother's Songs" is quite emotive; a beautiful piece that Joe says always choked him up as he sang it. Recorded with the fine Missouri band Cedar Hill, the cut features Mel Besher in a first-rate bluegrass tenor lead vocal backed by Lisa Ray on harmony vocal. The one traditional in the collection, "St. Anne's Reel," is lovely with Joe on hammered dulcimer and mandolin, Bryan Bowers on autoharp, and Radim Zenkl on pennywhistle. "The Church Bell No One Hears" and "His Hand Is Divine" are two very well-crafted Gospel pieces, the latter featuring some excellent fiddle work by Ronnie Stewart.
Again Joe composes in a nice array of styles...the very bluesy "Streamliner," Calypso on "The River In Oregon," and driving bluegrass. And as usual, he's assembled a fine line up musicians quite equal to the task; the likes of Randy Kohrs, James King, Adam Haynes, Kevin Prater, Tim Crouch, and Scott Vestal contribute masterfully on various cuts. The word sure seems to have gotten out among his peers that Joe is a talent to be reckoned with; it's more than about time this notion catches on with the listening public and bluegrass radio.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Spirit of St. Louis (Joe Ross) - Review by Mark Petteys, November 3, 2006

By 

Mark P. Petteys (Forest Grove, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spirit of St. Louis (Audio CD)

Joe Ross continues his legacy as a songwriter and musician with "The Spirit of St. Louis." This newest batch of bluegrass originals is replete with quality musicians and rich lyrics. Drawing from images of Oregon's backwoods and history and ranging to other nostalgic and inspirational lyrics, Joe's songs meticulously traverse a new aspect of Oregon's bluegrass terrain.

"The Logger's Song," a driving bluegrass tune, kicks-off this latest project and is followed by another up-tempo tune called "The Homefire," a lament to homesickness. "One Legged Turkey" is a bouncy and interesting instrumental. The mood then shifts to Joe's Calypso-like bluegrass sound in "The River in Oregon," a tribute to the beautiful rivers of Oregon and is followed by "Mother's Song," a foot-tapping homespun waltz with poignant remembrances of childhood. "The Church Bell No One Hears" is a well-delivered gospel offering.

The title track, "The Spirit of St. Louis," is an eloquently-worded account of Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic airplane flight of 1927 and serves well as testament to Joe's proclivity to tell stories in song. The bluegrass saga continues with a soulful tune called "My Heart Remembers Yesterday." "St. Anne's Reel," the only traditional tune on the album, is beautifully voiced with Bryan Bowers on autoharp and is followed by "Streamliner," another original tale of the rails that is accompanied by the extraordinary resophonic guitar work of Al Brinkerhoff. Then, flowing into "Somewhere down the Road, the album closes with "His Hand is Devine," a tight gospel with pretty changes and harmonies.

This new bluegrass album is a lyrical journey through diverse and evocative stories and moods. The instrumentalists are all great and the album, with Joe's powerful lyrics, distinguishes his lyrical abilities as well as his skill as a singer and picker. Joe carves out a real niche as an Oregon singer and songwriter.


Mark Petteys

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot music from an Oregon songwriter., January 7, 2007

By 

M. OSullivan "music connoisseur" (Winchester, OR, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Spirit of St. Louis (Audio CD)

Joe Ross may not be a name recognizable to the general populace, but in "The Spirit of St Louis" Joe has put out an excellent CD that will endear him to many. Joe has assembled a group of original songs played by a plethora of talented musicians that will truly inspire and energize the listener. Joe uses all the tools available to the songwriter, writing on a variety of topics from history to love gone bad to gospel to songs about home and life on the road. He also throws in an original insrumental, the catchy "one-legged turkey". He varies things by using major and minor modes, and his songs go from the simple to the structurally complex. Above all, Joe has surrounded himself with some outstanding musicians who complement his compositions as effortlessly as if they have been playing with him on his front porch for a lifetime. In addition to Joe's presence on guitar, bass, and mandolin, Al Brinkerhoff's dobro brings another unifing thread that can be heard throughout the project. Tim Crouch's fiddle is outstanding, particularly on the Loggers Song, where his fills seem as if he composed them specifically to fit the images of the song. Joe Ross is indeed a uniquely talented man and has put together an excellent showcase of his material in "The Spirit of St Louis".