Del McCoury Band – It’s Just The Night

As the reigning family in a field where tradition is a watchword and experimentation is regarded with at least a little suspicion, there’s not much pressure on the Del McCoury Band to reinvent itself, and so it’s not much of a surprise that their new album exhibits no sharp change in musical direction. Instead, It’s Just The Night finds the quintet polishing its musicianship to an even more radiant glow, stretching out to find a few new — but not too new — sounds, and pursuing a trend in song selection that has manifested itself over the past decade.

The material reveals that even as a cluster of their fans continue to laud the group as unsullied exemplars of bluegrass tradition, Del and the boys are actually developing a recorded repertoire that leans heavily on Americana sources. Where its predecessor had one Richard Thompson song, this CD has two (“Dry My Tears And Move On” and “Two-Faced Love”), plus one from Verlon Thompson (the bluesy “Asheville Turnaround”) and a Shawn Camp tune (“My Love Will Not Change”). There’s also a Delbert McClinton/Gary Nicholson cut (“Same Kind Of Crazy”), as well as another entry from Charlie Stefl and Brad Rodgers, the duo who previously contributed “All Aboard”. None of these drift that far away from the bluegrass shore — in fact, once given the McCoury treatment, they’re anchored nearby — but the plain fact is that the group’s sound relies on a lot more than the three chords that typify the tradition.

Still, there are some more reassuring selections for the hidebound, including a dandy waltz (“Let An Old Racehorse Run”), Dean Presley’s “I’m Afraid I Forgot The Feeling” (the boys offer a brief new taste of a kind of modern but squarely bluegrass rhythmic groove, a sign that they’re keeping an ear alert to the work of their colleagues), and even the first Reno & Smiley tune Del has recorded in a decade or so, a fiercely traditional gospel quartet number.

The group’s singing and playing are as good as ever — polished but soulful, creative yet rooted. The standout is, as on their previous album, the banjo playing of Rob McCoury, who has matured to the point that he richly deserves an award or two to go with those that brother Ron (mandolin), Mike Bub (bass) and Jason Carter (fiddle) have already been handed. And Del? Well, the sense of joy and pride he derives from the band and from his own abilities comes shining through. Sly or sad, you can hear him smiling with every note he sings.