In short, this is an album of traditional bluegrass and a few of my original songs mixed in. The musicians are all friends and excellent pickers. I hope the love of bluegrass and good times we had making this project come through the music.
For a longer version:
Songs
Maybe You Will Change Your Mind
I was just casually listening to some Reno and Smiley when this song came on and it really stopped me dead in my tracks. I started singing this one at jams occasionally, and then Zeb Gambill frequently asked me to do it during gigs. It only fits that he adds a killer mandolin solo on this one.
Seven Year Blues
This is probably one of the most emotional bluegrass songs I’ve ever heard. There are so many great versions out there, but the original Louvin Brothers version just floors me. Nobody will ever do it like them. So we did our best to try and evoke emotion in our own way and I think it captures the heartbreak well. Andrew Small sings some incredible tenor harmony on this one while John Duncan bows a crying fiddle solo.
Another Day
This song was written and released by Don Reno and Red Smiley in 1962. I must’ve listened to this song about a hundred times in the first week after I heard it -- it’s a certified banger. Sean Newman really captures the energy on the harmony vocals here while John Duncan and Jake Eddy kick it off just the right way.
Melodies of Love
The inspiration for this song really started after singing some Louvin Brothers duets with Sam Weiss at the App State Fiddlers convention. The Louvin Brothers evoke such honesty and emotion with their songs, and I wanted to do something like that. However, it was something of a blank canvas when it came to the sonic backdrop. That is until Sam Weiss really set the mood for this song with his fiddling. It is a beautiful thing to have a friend take your song to a place you didn’t know it was going.
Trainyard Lament
There's a lot of songs about train hobos in bluegrass, but in the era of de-industrialization, this highlights a more modern situation characterized by rust and nostalgia.
Baby Blue Eyes
Drew Walker (my bandmate from the Smoky Dunes) first showed me Doc Watson’s version of this song. I really loved it. Then I heard Harley Allen’s jaw dropping rendition of it. Harley Allen is one of my bluegrass heroes, and this is my nod to him.
I’ll Take the Blame
I first heard this song from Red Allen’s tribute to Lester Flatt album. I really liked how it was both playful and lonesome. I knew this one would be fun after working on it with Sean Newman on a chicken farm in Mars Hill, but damn if Jake Eddy didn’t set it off on another level with his banjo kick. I hope you enjoy our take on this bluegrass classic.
Show Me The Way To Go Home
This song is written by Cullen Galyean, a legendary bluegrass picker and singer from around the North Carolina/Virginia border. I have loved listening to Cullen’s singing over the years and when I stumbled upon this cut of his song with The Border Mountain Boys, I figured it would be a good fit for the album. The song wouldn’t be the same without Jacob Brewer’s fine baritone singing.
Reflections
This album was recorded at the Boathouse Studio run by John Duncan and Carter Giegerich. John Duncan produced and co-engineered this album. After spending a weekend with John in West Virginia visiting Jake Eddy, I knew he was the guy to call when the idea for this album struck. An accomplished and talented fiddler and multi-instrumentalist in his own right, John is an invaluable source of bluegrass knowledge and history. He helped guide the album in the right stylistic direction by focusing on each of our strengths as musicians while connecting the songs to specific threads of bluegrass music.
Carter Giegerich was the lead engineer for the album and I am so thankful he was. Carter has one of the best ears around, knows classic bluegrass sound inside and out, and is a whiz on the knobs and buttons. Carter and John not only captured this project perfectly, but they kept the studio filled with laughter for almost 40 hours straight with only extended naps in between.
All in all, this album was brought together by friendship and a love of bluegrass music. For the most part we all met through bluegrass and fiddlers conventions. Over the years these relationships developed into lasting friendships. It was a beautiful experience to bring this crew together to create a project centered around the music we love. I hope you enjoy it.
credits
released November 16, 2023
Maybe You Will Change Your Mind
Written by: Don Reno
Tenor Harmony: Sean Newman
Fiddle: John Duncan
Banjo: Jake Eddy
Mandolin: Zeb Gambill
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
Seven Year Blues
Written by: Eddie Hill, Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin
Tenor Harmony: Andrew Small
Fiddle: John Duncan
Banjo: Jake Eddy
Mandolin: Zeb Gambill
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
Another Day
Written by: Don Reno & Red Smiley
Tenor Harmony: Sean Newman
Fiddle: John Duncan
Banjo: Jake Eddy
Mandolin: Zeb Gambill
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
Melodies of Love
Written by: Marshall Brown
Tenor Harmony: Andrew Small
Fiddle: Sam Weiss
Mandolin: Zeb Gambill
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
Trainyard Lament
Written by: Marshall Brown
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Baby Blue Eyes
Written by: Jim Eanes
Fiddle: John Duncan
Mandolin: Zeb Gambill
Banjo: Jake Eddy
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
I’ll Take the Blame
Written by: Louise Certain, James Clackly, Gladys Stacey
Tenor Harmony: Sean Newman
Fiddle: John Duncan
Banjo: Jake Eddy
Mandolin: Zeb Gambill
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
Show Me The Way To Go Home
Written by: Willie Cullen Galyean
Tenor Harmony: Andrew Small
Baritone Harmony: Jacob Brewer
Guitar & Lead Vocals: Marshall Brown
Bass: Sean Newman
Recorded at: Boathouse Studios (Asheville, NC)
Engineered by: Carter Giegerich & John Duncan
Mixed by: Bridger Dunnagan
Mastered by: Joe Dejarnette at Studio 808A
Produced by: John Duncan & Marshall Brown
Album Cover Photo: Kara Abbott
Album Cover Design: Aaron Stone
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