New album: The Color of Rust
Artist: Carolina Still
Label: Rusty Knuckles Music
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Carolina Still’s new album “The Color of Rust” is an impressive blend of bluegrass/country music delivered with the zest of rockabilly and punk. The album’s tight playing and fresh production make the Avett Brothers sound like a funeral band.
With an acoustic guitar/fiddle/banjo sound that’s tough to pigeonhole, Carolina Still exudes a joyous charm. There is nothing corn pone about the songs on “The Color of Rust,” but the songs do celebrate southern virtues that have stood the test of time.
The title track chronicles the way time has a way of steamrolling rural life, but the lyrics are defiant. To an outsider, “Hog Killin’ Time” may seem a bit harsh, but it’s a song about cold weather and bacon. Blake Shelton is probably too busy hanging out with Christina Aquavelva to record a song about breakfast meats, but thank goodness Carolina Still did it.
“The Color of Rust” is steeped in southern vibes and tones, but drummer Billy Smith drives the band as if he’s trying out for the Foo Fighters or Green Day. Bluegrass purists tend to go berserk any time a fiddle and/or a banjo is in the same building with a drummer, but this is a combination that works brilliantly for Carolina Still.
Shoot … bluegrass overlord Bill Monroe would have probably had a drummer if they could have fit the kit in the trunk of a Lincoln.
As for the string benders in Carolina Still — J. Alan Casey, Adam Jones and Robert Norman — there’s not a holder* in the bunch. These guys are pickers of the highest order, and their lead/harmony vocals turn “In the Barn” and “Six Strings and You” into massive sing-a-longs.
“The Color of Rust” is the perfect album for the bluegrass/country music lover who is tired of being sold pop music with a cowboy hat on top. Hopefully Carolina Still with have a nice long run, because there aren't many groups left who can sing and play at this level.
*A “holder” is someone who stands on stage holding an instrument as a prop. A “picker” is someone who knows how to actually play the instrument. (copyright Bryant Dawson, 1980)
Classic album: Ready for Freddie
Artist: Freddie Hubbard
Label: Blue Note
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard played with some of the top names in jazz in the 1960s — Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Art Blakely — but he came into his own as a solo artist on the 1961 release “Ready for Freddie.”
Hubbard was admittedly playing with a stacked deck on “Ready for Freddie,” with players such as McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones in his band. Even with the A-list accompaniment, Hubbard was able to shine through his sinewy horn work and his impeccable knack for composition.
For the remainder of Hubbard’s multi-decade career, “Ready for Freddie” tracks such as “Arietis” and “Crisis” were often performed at his concerts. The interplay between Hubbard’s trumpet and Tyner’s piano on “Weaver of Dreams” is in the same league with the Duke Ellington/John Coltrane duet “In a Sentimental Mood.”
For lovers of hard bop, “Marie Antoinette” is a great vehicle for all of the soloists — particularly Hubbard and saxophone legend Wayne Shorter.
When “Ready for Freddie” was issued on compact disc, alternate takes of “Arietis” and “Marie Antoinette” were added as bonus tracks. While these different takes in no way usurp the original album takes, they are valuable in that it’s intriguing to chart the subtle changes from one take to another.
Listeners who have the original album memorized down to the last drum fill will no doubt welcome these additions.
If your jazz knowledge doesn’t go beyond something you heard Cliff Huxtable say on “The Cosby Show,” “Ready for Freddie” is a good place to start.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s book ‘Making Gravy in Public’ at Amazon.com and jondawson.com.