Ralph Stanley – Shine On

The sepia-toned photograph on this record’s cover shows a hoary-headed Stanley with an open Bible in his hands. Looking more prophet than preacher, he might as well be Moses standing atop Mt. Sinai with two tablets of stone. And surely he speaks just as directly to his longtime fan base with this album of classic Clinch Mountain gospel.

Producer Ralph Stanley II captures the venerable Clinch Mountain Boys in top form. Veteran player Steve Sparkman has completely mastered the Stanley banjo sound, and James Alan Shelton’s flatpicking is as crisp as anyone’s on the circuit today. Following the departure of James Price, utility man John Rigsby has transitioned quite smoothly into his new role as a fiddle player. Grandson Nathan Stanley, a relative newcomer, contributes mandolin chops on a couple cuts, and Jack Cooke, a mainstay since 1969, anchors the band on bass.

But Stanley’s craggy vocals are the bedrock of this project. He does a solo turn on “The Old Church Yard” and lines out “Why Should We Start And Fear To Die” (a hymn dating from the mid-1800s) in the call-and-response style characteristic of traditional congregational singing. An unabashed testament to his faith, this varied set includes Pentecostal shouters (“This Little Light Of Mine” and “I’ll Fly Away”), a soulful a cappella quartet (“Sing Songs About Jesus”), and a recitation (“On A High, High Mountain”). And on the most moving numbers — Dolly Parton’s waltz-timed title track among them — the sparse instrumentation serves only to complement the message.