Darin and Brooke Aldridge have put out a CD in my opinion that is refreshing. To quote Jim Lauderdale , he says “Darin and Brooke bring tradition to today and today to tradition”. This couple sings so well together, their harmonies are just uncanny. I call this CD a mood changer, I like to listen to it with breakfast, they use different songwriters including their own member Becky Buller.
I’m listening to a song I love called “Trying To Make Clocks Slow Down”, by Bill Whyte just a sample of the many great songs on this expertly crafted CD.
Brooke sings the lead on this , the instruments are placed expertly in the mix. There is a lot of pettiness about some things in bluegrass, like this CD has a quiet drum kit in the background of the music. So if that is going to ruin it for you, get a Bill Monroe CD. I can like both. This is just one of those albums that does not have one bad song on it, and it is recorded in a studio in North Carolina, Crossroads Studio, by sound master Van Atkins, who recorded, mixed and mastered it all by himself. I wouldn’t recommend this myself, I usually think that another person should master a CD, for one reason to get a fresh set of ears on the recording, but Atkins gets a pass on this from me, He recorded “Papertown” by Balsam Range which spent an incredible amount of time at the top of the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and won CD of the Year for the IBMA. It was a masterpiece similar to this. Brooke and Darin produced this CD.
Jim Lauderdale wrote the liner notes for this CD, there is another statement that he made in which I agree, “I can’t really do justice in trying to describe the essence of this record in words; you just have to hear it to know what I mean. ” I have had this CD for about a month and it is still as fresh now as when I first heard it. I really think that it is going to do well.
I have to mention a couple of other songs in closing. The first song that I need to mention is their jaw dropping version of “Outbound Plane”, by Nanci Griffith, which honestly is the hook that got me that got me listening to the CD, and when I listen to a CD, I like to listen to the whole CD, and there just is not a bad song on here. They do “Outbound Plane” almost exactly like Nanci Griffith originally did it, but with more of a bluegrass sound. The other song which gets extra mention is “Love Does” by Jamie Johnson, which is done as a duet, with some sweet harmonies.
No studio musicians used, it is recorded with their road band. Darin Aldridge plays guitar, mandolin and Bouzouki. Becky Buller on harmony vocals and fiddle. Collin Willis plays a very tasty sounding Dobro, Dwayne Anderson on bass, Tony Creasman on percussion and Leah Bowen on Harmony vocals. Check This Out.
