Silver Bullet Bluegrass review

Various Artists- Silver Bullet Bluegrass Lonesome Day Records

Albums of bluegrass artists covering familiar rock catalogues is not a new concept. Some have been successful artistically (The Moody Bluegrass sets come to mind, as does The Hillbenders rendering of The Who’s Tommy), but it is a challenging target to hit.

Lonesome Day Records owner Randall Deaton started on this all-star journey more than a decade ago, cutting a few tracks before allowing other commitments priority. Encouraged to continue his Bob Seger tribute toward fruition, the completed project contains thirteen tracks and features prominent bluegrass and Americana artists, many of whom have Lonesome Day connections. To their credit, and to that of Deaton and engineer Jimmy Nutt, this is a strong, impressive, and truly bluegrass album.

Shonna Tucker’s (formerly of Drive-By Truckers) “Hollywood Nights,” Tim Stafford’s (Blue Highway) “Even Now,” and Robert Hale’s (Wildfire) “Feel Like a Number” are but three highlights of a recording that doesn’t flounder. Keith Garrett (The Boxcars and Blue Moon Rising) has an ideal voice for “You’ll Accompany Me” with Megan Lynch’s fiddle dueting.

Bo Bice’s swampy approach brings a different flavour of ‘grass to Seger’s early hit “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” while veteran songwriter and performer Larry Cordle confidently interprets the challenging (and in this case, reso-rich) “Night Moves.” Also notable are Tim Shelton and Josh Shilling who impressively face down “Against the Wind” and “Main Street,” respectively.

Also featured are fiddling bandleader Carson Peters (“Long Twin Silver Line”,) Jeff Parker (“We’ve Got Tonight”,) and Ward Hayden (“Betty Lou’s Getting’ Out Tonight.”) I had not previously encountered Bill Taylor (Appalachian Heatherns) but his “Roll Me Away” strikes especially powerfully.

Each singer appears to accept Seger’s vocal as the desired template while not attempting to duplicate his signature approach. As a result, the distinctive qualities making each performer successful shine across the project.

Musician credits abound but the ‘house band’ appears to have been comprised largely of Stephen Mougin and Gary Nichols (guitars), Shawn Brock and Darrell Webb (mandolins), Ned Luberecki (banjo), and Mike Bubb (bass) with others guesting selectively. For example, a full complement of SteelDrivers appear to support Nichols on his incredible and soulful reading of “Turn the Page” and folks like Tim Crouch and Lynch (fiddle) and Wayne Bridge (Dobro) also appear.

I would never have considered a Bob Seger bluegrass tribute album as something to pursue. Turns out, once again, there are folks much brighter than me. Silver Bullet Bluegrass provides fresh, vibrant interpretations of familiar songs, and is a welcome addition to my Bluegrass Bunker.