Synergy

Jim Hurst | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 12, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Pinecastle
• ASIN: B0000AGWNY
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,008 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tasteful, playful, interactive musical collaboration, August 14, 2003

By 

J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Synergy (Audio CD)

Playing Time - 41:46 -- Sometimes less is more. Guitar, bass, vocals - a lean approach to a recording but a highly interactive collaboration that results in a final product that is much more than each individual part ever would have been by itself. Thus, "synergy" from Jim Hurst and Missy Raines portrays a tasteful, yet playful, interplay of two excellent musicians who have won numerous awards over the years.

Hurst, a former member of the Front Porch String Band, holds the IBMA's honor of being Guitar Player of the Years for 2001 and 2002, and he has graced the cover of Flatpicking magazine. Raines was Bass Player of the Year for four years running, 1998-2001. No slouches here. Until late 2000, Jim and Missy toured with Claire Lynch and The Front Porch String Band, and they cover Lynch's and Debbie Whitaker's "Old Blind Dog" on this latest effort.

Hurst sings a number of songs on his own, like the opener "I Ain't Got the Blues," "Old Blind Dog," and the patriotic ballad, "The Hero." Raines gives the same solo vocal treatment to the swingy "Buzzed" and the reflective "Mist of Memory." I especially like it when the Raines/Hurst duet choruses enhance songs like "Cold Hard Business," "God is Working in the Dark," and "Reverend Brimstone." Their synergism really shines and shows up best when their vocals are in full blend together. The pair have recorded in the past with Nashville eclectic songwriter Tony Rackley, and on this project they cover Rackley's "The Longest Part." Three tasty instrumentals are offered -- Hurst's jazzy "Guidology" and snappy "Automotive Breakdown," as well as Raines' bassy and bouncy album closer, "Cincinnati at Night."

The pair have been quite prolific in the past few years, with releases of albums like Hurst's 1998 solo release "Open Window," Raines 1999 award-winning solo project "My Place in the Sun," and Hurst and Raines' 2000 album called "Two." Hurst's more recent "Second Son" album brought together 27 other musicians, a veritable who's who of bluegrass, to span a broad spectrum from trad country to bluegrass. The IBMA Emerging Artist nominees for 2000 and 2001 have now emerged and are in full bloom. These hard-working eclectic and expressive musicians have another bell-ringing winner with "Synergy." (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)