With the death of Ralph Stanley still leaving the entire bluegrass community in mourning, the time was perfect for the new Junior Sisk and Rambler Choice album “Poor Boys Pleasure”. Since bursting onto the scene with Wyatt Rice, Junior Sisk has been a pillar of the traditional bluegrass sound. His Virginia roots make his specific sect of traditional bluegrass lean towards the Stanley sound as well. Because of his natural talent and his history in the bluegrass scene Junior Sisk should now be considered one of the most important voices and representatives of bluegrass music. He is willing and able to take this position as well. With material choices such as “A Far Cry From Lester and Earl”, Sisk has been blatant in his fondness for the traditional sounds. All of these factors help to create a masterful 36 minutes that is assisted by Jonathan Dillon, Jamie Harper, Kameron Keller and Jason Davis. Or as I like to call them, Michelle Nixon’s old band. The only member who wasn’t formerly part of her hard driving act was bass player Noah Brown who had previously spent his career with Ralph Stanley II.
This album plays like any other Junior Sisk album, but his formula is too good not to replicate. The mix between gospel, hard driving banjo, Jimmy Martin style tempos, bluegrass nostalgia songs, and country is impeccable and has not been executed to this degree by any band since the Bluegrass album band. While it is a different Rice than in the previously mentioned band, it is urgent to not ignore what influences Wyatt had on Sisk when they were playing together. These influences can be seen in songs like “Cold in Carolina”, one of the strongest tracks on the new album. With such a variety of sounds, the album flows perfectly and there is never a lull in the energy distributed by the performers or absorbed by the listener. The first brilliant choice done by Sisk was to open and conclude the album with “ Lonnie Ray” and “Ain’t gonna Work Tomorrow” respectively. “Lonnie Ray” tells the story of a man who works the back roads selling moonshine to a hectic pace brought on by the 80ton freight train of a banjo player Jason Davis. Any traditionalist fans out there who haven’t heard this blazing banjo player need to make time to do that. What makes Jason Davis incredible on these tracks is neither his right nor left hand, but rather his clever lick infested mind and his second nature to keep the song moving forward with as much down hill momentum as possible. Starting and ending the project with that extra catalyst that many bands don’t have is why Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice is on a shortlist for the best bands touring today.
The second track, “Longneck Blues”, is already gaining radio notoriety and will be considered by many to be the best song on the album. Part of this is definitely because of special guest Ronnie Bowman and his tenor addition as well as the second verse, but mostly it’s because it’s the catchiest song both melodically and rhythmically. What many people weren’t expecting including me on this album is that it would also work as a showcase of Junior Sisk’s criminally underrated right hand. The emphasis on the down beats which gives a track that “Jimmy Martin” sound is used and executed so well by both mandolin player Jonathan Dillon and Junior Sisk that this song would be a radio hit even if it didn’t have the best lyric for the chorus. With lyrics like “Keep those longnecks comin’ honey I got a fire inside/ the beers and tears are gonna help me win the fight”, this song stacks up as one of Junior’s best regardless of album or era.
These previously mentioned tunes are not necessarily parts of the Sisk repertoire, but it wouldn’t be a Ramblers Choice album without a candid break up song and a call back to bluegrass nostalgia. These spots are filled with “I watched you go” and “Jimmy, J.D. and Paul” respectivally. “I Watched you go” is a fine tune. The previously mentioned strengths of the rhythm section are also seen in this track. Noah Brown also keeps the high tenor solid and complimentary, which is how one needs to handle it when you’re singing with the 2013 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year. The problem with this tune is that there is no way it will ever compare to “I did the Leaving for you” which is probably the funniest and most unorthodox “Leavin” songs ever written. Another unique quality listeners get from a Junior Sisk album is a bluegrass nostalgia tune “Jimmy, J..D, and Paul” takes the spot of “A Far Cry From Lester and Earl” as the tune that will either have the listener reminiscing or debating depending on age and relation to the genre. This one doesn’t draw a line in the sand like his older material has, but this song definitely gets the job done. Along with Jason Davis being a brilliant J.D. Crowe, Jamie Harper, the fiddle player, brings a lot of energy and volatility to Ramblers Choice. While Jason Davis is a stud who’s breaks make the whole band sound better, and Dillon is extremely reliable, clean and has a heavy chop, the work of Jamie Harper on this track and whole album puts it over the top. While most of the Ramblers Choice sound is understated and about the whole rather than the sum of the parts, each break by Harper brings highlights and laughs to the listener. He lacks the composure seen in the other members, but that’s why he needs to be there.
Each time Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice put out an album they extend what many musicians think are the limitations of the traditional 2-5 chords bluegrass sound. On each album they execute and represent many sub-genres of bluegrass whether by band lineup or material choice. While Junior Sisk will always be the star of the show, The band he has today fits all possible quotas and desires, and that jack of all trades ability gives this band its extremely sterling reputation.
