Brand New Strings (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Ricky Skaggs (vocals, guitar, claw hammer banjo, mandolin); Cody Kilby, Bryan Sutton (guitar); Johnny Hyland (electric guitar); Jim Mills (banjo); Mike Snyder (claw hammer banjo); Molly Skaggs (dulcimer); Andy Leftwich (mandolin); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Jeff Taylor, Tim Laure (accordion); Mark Fain (bass instrument); Sam Bacco (spoons, percussion, bells); Keith Sewell, Paul Brewster, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Sharon White (background vocals).

It should come as no surprise to fans of Ricky Skaggs that the level of musicianship within his band Kentucky Thunder is superb. Even at their worst, they skim the surface of maximum quality, but what is so exciting about Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder is their ability to balance on the frayed edges of classic and progressive bluegrass. Brand New Strings shows this off very well, forsaking neither, and is an excellent example of a group whose members are both technically fantastic and capable of emotionally exploiting their talents, a rare commodity in modern bluegrass. The first of Skaggs' four songwriting contributions, the instrumental "I Corinthians 1:18," is a perfect example of the more forward-thinking side of the group, while the title track is where the group completely cuts loose with ridiculously amazing picking and fiddling. Skaggs even broke the traditional bluegrass barrier by employing accordionist Tim Laure on "Love Does It Every Time," a nice melodic country-folk tune, if a little heavy-handed lyrically. Ultimately, Brand New Strings is an excellent outing for Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and shows the band pulling bluegrass another small step further from its shelter into adventure. ~ Gregory McIntosh

Given his instrumental virtuosity, superb taste in personnel and songs, and his consistently excellent discography, it seems almost impossible for Ricky Skaggs to make a bad album. BRAND NEW STRINGS does nothing to shake that standard. With Kentucky Thunder, Skaggs's fiery, spot-on backing band, the singer/composer/multi-instrumentalist mixes traditional and progressive tendencies on this album, reeling off dizzying musical feats, while keeping the whole as cool and down-home as a glass of lemonade in the summer.

Skaggs's easy tenor singing leads the way on most tunes, but it is his blistering mandolin playing and Kentucky Thunder's fiddle-and-guitar work that really take the spotlight. The opener, "Sally Jo," has a classic blues-drenched bluegrass quality, and the slower-tempoed "Lonesome and Dry as a Bone" is infused with a plaintive, yearning feel. Skaggs has a soft spot for reflective songs with positive messages, as on the narrative ballad "Love Does It Every Time," but he never fails to bring back a propulsive energy, as with the breathless title track. BRAND NEW STRINGS is another impressive notch in the belt of contemporary bluegrass's leading light. minimize