Gibson Brothers – Iron & Diamonds

Who would’ve thought that Tom Petty’s halfway-sinister-sounding rock ‘n’ roll seduction “Cabin Down Below” would make a good bluegrass song? In the Gibson Brothers’ hands, it does. They moved it to a higher key, nudged the tempo a bit, and made it swing; the result is a strong opener for Iron And Diamonds with more innocent-sounding intentions than Petty’s.

The Gibson Brothers can to do good things with unlikely song subjects. Leigh Gibson (vocals, guitar) and Eric Gibson (vocals, banjo), longtime bassist Mike Barber, and more recent additions Clayton Campbell (fiddle) and Rick Hayes (mandolin) are fairly open-minded for a traditional-leaning bluegrass band. On 2006’s Red Letter Day, they did a pretty darn decent rendering of Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman”, and here they take on Steve Earle, Julie Miller and Faron Young.

Leigh and Eric’s harmonies are close and sympathetic, as befits brothers and longtime singing partners. The spare country duet “Lonely Me, Lonely You”, one of several quality originals, shows just how well they’re matched. Theirs isn’t the type of vocal blend with completely smoothed edges: Eric’s voice is reedy and raw-boned, Leigh’s a touch deeper and rounder, which gives a song such as “Bloom Off The Rose” a satisfying bite.

The Gibson Brothers certainly have no aversion to making records. Iron And Diamonds is their fourth Sugar Hill album since 2003, and it catches them in something of a nostalgic, reflective mood, the only real drawback being that there’s not much in the way of hard-driving energy. But it does justice to their distinctive brotherly sound.