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Critically-acclaimed six-piece bluegrass
band The Grascals have been the reigning International Bluegrass
Music Association Entertainers of the Year for the past two
years. In 2005 The Grascals made quite a splash when they released
their debut self-titled album earning them critical praise and
a slew of industry awards. The International Bluegrass Music
Association named them Emerging Artist of the Year and also
voted the number "Me and John and Paul" Song of the
Year.
July 15th (2008) saw the release of their
third studio album Keep On Walkin’ on
Rounder Records. Self-produced, there are 12 tracks merging
country music with bluegrass, making this the band’s  first
release in two years.
After five years together the band members
are made up of Terry Eldredge - lead vocals, rhythm guitar;
Jamie Johnson - lead and harmony vocals; Danny Roberts – mandolin,
bass vocals; Terry Smith - upright bass, lead and harmony vocals
and Aaron McDaris - banjo, guitar, harmony vocals. Guest musicians
include Jimmy Mattingly – fiddle, Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins – piano,
Andy Hall – Dobro, Kent Wells – rhythm guitar, Steve Turner
– drums.
The album kicks off in 5th gear with Aubrey
Holt’s “Feeling Blue”, followed
with a second Holt composition “Sad Wind
Sighs” with Vince Gill as guest vocalist. It’s tremendous
to see this young band including some wonderful country classics
preformed bluegrass style. Highlights on the album include Terry
Eldredge taking lead on a sensational version of Billy Yates/Mike
Curtis “Choices” that George Jones
recorded in 1999 and won him the 2000 Grammy Award for Best
Country Song. The Grascals have also dug deep to pull out thrilling
versions of Waylon Jennings’ “The Only
Daddy  That
Will Walk The Line” (Jimmy Bryant) and Merle Haggard/Bonnie
Owens’ “Today I Started Loving You Again”
together with some sensational harmonies on this track. Another
country number that deserves a mention is Chris Dodson/Sonny
Throckmorton’s “Can’t You Hear That Whistle
Blow” featuring lead vocals from Terry Smith who also
contributes some red-hot solos on the slap-bass.
Jamie Johnson displays his own songwriting
skills on two songs…the moving title track about life’s journeys
co-written with veteran songwriter Charley Stefl and “Indiana,”
which he co-wrote with one of the band’s favourite writers,
Harley Allen. The Grascals also offer us the highly moving and
spellbinding “Remembering” from
the pen of Harley Allen, as the lyrics pursue the theme of a
country boy sent into the drama of World War II. It tells how
it changed this young man with its nightmares of war and a heart
that turned to stone.
Keep On Walking
is one of the best new album releases for a long time and the
best bluegrass album released in many years. With a first generation
bluegrass feel and the final gospel styled “Farther
Along” it fills the bill completely.
Graham Lees Aug 2008
website www.grascals.com
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