The last seven years of bluegrass have seen a lot of changes in regards to the biggest bands and the most celebrated instrumentalists and vocalists (more on that later), but one of the biggest constants throughout the scene has been the gentle twang of Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice. While keeping a strictly traditional formula in terms of instrumentation and song structure, Ramblers Choice has become a hit regarding bluegrass audiences due to their honky tonk song writing which can be plum pitiful or a knee slapping good time. On Sisk’s new album, Brand New Shade of Blue he continues to find songs that seem ready to be played at jams for the next century, but the surprise has been suppressed and we are left with merely a few gems and a majority of filler. Let me put it this way, if this was an EP I would listen to nothing else, but unfortunately it’s not, and Junior Sisk, with the news of a tour break in 2019, may be running on fumes.
Junior Sisk doubles down on his tried and true formula with mixed results
This doesn’t mean that the highlights aren’t up there with the best bluegrass ever. Luckily, all of the highlights are placed onto the front of the album. The title track, “A Brand New Shade of Blue” somehow finds a way to make the “feeling True” mantra unique and humorous. He laments that “he may receive the highest honor” from the fashion community for him creating a new color. Yes, it’s a shade of blue. Let’s also not forget to mention the always tasteful Jason Davis and his bent thirds to introduce his break and the fiddle fills from Jamie Harper. While these two bring force to their instruments, mandolinist Johnathan Dillion has a more gentle left hand which I have always felt out of place.
“Honey Do List” is lyrical twist on a common trope. “I want you to undo- your ‘I do’ to him” is the premise on the track, but the way they use honey as a command “Honey do this, Honey do that” while also adding a pun “I want to be your honey on your do (due)-list again” is very clever while the driving harmonies Kameron Keller add good energy and grit to the song.
Speaking of grit, “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With That” personifies it. In line with Sisk’s old track “A Far Cry From Lester and Earl”, Sisk laments today’s music and how a simpler performance schedule and audience “Three Dogs and the Cat” is sometimes the best and tranquil audience of all. Becomes sometimes “Being a star on your front porch” is enough. Sisk’s sliding and phrasing has always been understated and underrated, and here it’s no different. The dips and rises on the last verse are textbook lead vocals and everybody should take note.
Lastly, “The Whiskey and The Guitar” is a cute novelty song that transpires like one would assume, but that doesn’t get rid of the fun of hearing the words of a bottle of whiskey. And again, Davis and Harper are so solid in the backups and know exactly when to turn up and tone down that the song glides and forces the audience to get moving.
Unfortunately, he could have placed any other eight songs from his discography and I wouldn’t have noticed a difference besides the quality. “Backwards and Forwards” is one melodic note and a female accompanying part from being exactly the same as “Guns, Coins and Jewelry” and I’m sure there are other examples of musical doppelgangers on this project.
I would be remiss if I didn’t use a portion of this column discussing the IBMA awards. Meh. Balsam Range: fine. But why didn’t they win best vocal group if that’s their strength, and they were the best overall band? What did Doyle even do this year, and how the hell is any of it better without Jamie Dailey? And continuing on nomination and winning inconsistencies, how can the Travelin McCourys be instrumental group of the year when their only personnel difference was Cody Kilby who didn’t even get a nomination for best guitar player? (Which is ludicrous.) Lastly, the most important award in my opinion: album of the year. If possible, please read my review of ‘Rivers and Roads’. I go into the depth about how a throwing spaghetti at the wall approach should not a great album make, and yet big names culminating in a mish mash of bluegrass sub-genres was enough to win this award. Even better, the best album wasn’t even nominated! ‘Crepe Paper Heart’ by Becky Buller was nominated twice for recorded event of the year for “Calamity Jane” and “The Rebel and the Rose”, yet no nominee for the album those two songs are on? I know I’m taking this too seriously, but consistency in the nomination process and using the associative property would go a long way in actually recognizing the people who deserve it in that year.
