David Davis & The Warrior River Boys – Troubled Times

David Davis & the Warrior River Boys seem to hail from a time and place where the line between bluegrass and country had not yet been drawn. There’s no hint of pretension, as if they were trying to manufacture a prewar sound. But their style and repertoire show flashes of Jimmie Rodgers and early Hank Williams as often as Ralph Stanley or Bill Monroe.

Davis, an Alabama native, does have solid bluegrass credentials. Monroe hired his uncle Cleo to be the first Blue Grass Boy in 1938. Davis’ own mandolin playing is distinctly Monroe-styled, and his vocals are painfully lonesome. Murders, natural disasters, Stonewall Jackson’s mortal wounding at Chancellorsville, and trains, especially, seem to drive him to despair.

The Warrior River Boys are a relatively young group featuring Adam Duke on guitar, fiddler Owen Saunders, banjo player Daniel Grindstaff, and bassist Marty Hays. The band has fun with Merle Travis’ “John Henry Jr.”, a tale about the legend’s lazy, dice-shooting offspring, but their treatment of Williams’ “(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle” and “A House Of Gold” is fittingly sparse. Of special note are the contributions from songwriter Alan Johnston, whose three original tunes stand up well alongside the more traditional fare.