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When it
comes from NewFound Road, it comes from the soul.
There are more famous bluegrass bands, but you’d be hard pressed to
find one that plays and sings with more feeling and heart than this
extraordinary ensemble. NewFound Road’s second collection for
Rounder Records, Same Old Place, following their well-received 2006
CD Life in a Song, tells you all you need to know about this group’s
depth of emotion. It’s chock full of driving rhythms, haunting
ballads and classic bluegrass, all brought into sharp focus by the
band’s instrumental prowess and the soulful vocals of Tim Shelton.
The muscular, assertive banjo of Junior Williams drives such
pulse-quickening performances as “Love Stay Away from Me.” Slippery,
silvery mandolin notes from Joe Booher are woven throughout the
album’s finest tracks. The bass of Randy Barnes is the heartbeat of
the rollicking “My Shoes Sure Know How to Get Around” as well as the
other tunes.
Guests
Justin Moses, Brandon Godman and Jim VanCleve provide the perfect
sonic compliments to NewFound Road’s instrumental prowess. And
everyone gets a turn to shine in the lightning-flashing instrumental
“Piledriver.”
Perhaps most obviously, there is not a more soulful bluegrass lead
singer than NewFound Road’s Tim Shelton. He is effortlessly
affecting on the heartbreaking ballad “Same Old Place.” Like all
great country singers, he communicates straight from his emotional
core on tunes like the haunting, minor-key gem “River of Pain.” Tim
lets fly with bent notes, curlicue phrasing and melody-toying vocal
acrobatics in “On the Back Row,” a honky-tonk song stripped to its
acoustic roots.
His vocal improvisations bring the classic “Lonesome River” back to
life. And Tim is nowhere more breathtaking than in the gentle,
gorgeous “Full Circle.”
That “soul” in NewFound Road might have its roots in the band’s
gospel origins. Indeed, it was with a great deal of introspection
and consideration that the group decided to make the transition from
strictly religious lyrics to mainstream bluegrass five years ago. As
one listen to the a cappella quartet singing in “Give Me Jesus” or
the inspirational tone of “Try to Be” reveals, NewFound Road still
swells with power on spiritual numbers. “I Am the Man (Thomas)” was
actually previously recorded by the group on its 2005 gospel CD. The
new version on Same Old Place is truly the collection’s “Hallelujah”
moment.
Critics have lauded NewFound Road’s refreshing clarity, sense of
honesty, purity of vision, fire and intensity. Yes, NewFound Road
has all of that.
But listen closely. There is something much more in this gifted
group’s sound. There aren’t many bands who can shake you to your
emotional core the way this one can. There are even fewer who can do
it as consistently as NewFound Road does on Same Old Place. Call it
spirit. Call it feeling. Or call it what it is…soul.
More than anything else, it is that elusive and special quality that
has put NewFound Road on a fast track to bluegrass stardom.
Listen to NewFound Road…and believe.
- Robert Oermann
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