Customer Reviews

Young Man Old Soul

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

 

 

Brandon Rickman
"Young Man, Old Soul"
(Rural Rhythm, 2009)
--------------------------------------
A nice solo album from the lead singer of bluegrass music's Lonesome River Band... The album title is a pretty good description of Rickman's sound; he's one of those young guys that has a great, gruff-sounding, old-coot type of voice. On this disc he tries to distinguish himself from the LRB by picking a more poetic, introspective style, which at times edges into the slower, nostalgia-drenched more ballad-y side of contemporary Top Forty country (particularly on "I Take The Backroads" and "Wide Spot On The Road"). There's not a lot of full-tilt-boogie bluegrass super-picking here, but really, that's okay -- we can hear plenty of that everywhere else. For me the best (and most traditional-sounding) tracks were a trio of gospel songs, including a Jerry Salley original, "Wearing Her Knees Out Over Me," about a mom who spends years praying for her errant son, and "Let Me Walk Lord, By Your Side," an old Carter Stanley song. Bluegrass songwriter Larry Cordle sings harmony on most of this album (although none of his songs are covered) while most of the other musicians are fairly unknown to me (which I find refreshing, considering how wide the bluegrass talent pool is, and how few people get a chance to record...) One standout performance is a trio vocal with Cordle and Val Storey, on "Rest For His Workers," another one of those fine gospel tunes I mentioned... A nice record, worth checking out if you're looking for new voices and new approaches in a genre that seems awfully conventional at times. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Country Music)

Brandon Rickman joined a reconstituted Lonesome River Band as guitarist and lead singer in time for their 2002 album Window of Time, and like many of the band's members, he's stepped out for a solo album. Rickman departs from the band's multipart harmonies and full instrumental arrangements, singing solo or with a single harmony, and stripping many of the tracks down to guitar with fiddle or mandolin. He paces the songs more leisurely than the hot-picking tempos of festival-bound bluegrass, and shorn of the typically bluegrass instrumental interplay of guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and bass, the arrangements have a looser country-folk feeling.

Rickman's co-written several songs of pining lovers and broken hearts, but he connects most deeply with lyrics of approaching mid-life, including the wizened "What I Know Now" and the blink-of-an-eye youth in "So Long 20's." He memorializes vanishing small town geographies and digs into songs of faith, including The Stanley Brothers' "Let Me Walk Lord" and a superb three-part harmony on "Rest for His Workers." Rickman's a compelling singer, and framing himself in stripped down arrangements not only differentiates these tracks from those of the Lonesome River Band, but truly highlights the qualities of his voice as an individual. Those who enjoy his singing and guitar playing with the band will love this disc; those who gravitate more to country than bluegrass should also check this out. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]