Search - Adam Steffey :: Grateful

Solid and Professional

TheHighlander | Richfield, PA United States | 07/09/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"With the exception of Daybreak in Dixie and Big Country I would not describe this CD as driving bluegrass. I would describe it as tastefull and clean. If you are looking for a hard driving type of CD this may not be the one for you. If you are looking for an extremely professional project with clean picking and some very good mid-tempo tunes, this ones for you. With many high quality pickers including Ron Stewart, Tim Stafford, Barry Bales, Marc Pruett and Randy Kohrs the chops are here. But they are kept to something less than a frenzy. If you are a fan of Adam Steffey you will enjoy this. If your tastes lean towards the group Mountain Heart, which he is now in, or up-tempo songs, you may want to give this a second thought. 3 stars for a solid project."

Good taste, tone and technique

TheHighlander | 04/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you've enjoyed listening to Alison Krauss & Union Station over the years you've no doubt enjoyed the wonderful mandolin playing of Adam Steffey. On his new recording Grateful, Adam steps out as both a singer and writer. The recording opens up with Adam's clean, crisp lines on the self-penned Pitchin' Wedge, where Tim Stafford, Barry Bales, Randy Kohrs and Ron Stewart
join him. From there you hear Adam's soulful, deep baritone voice on tunes like Leaves That Are Green and Don't Let Your Deal Go Down. Adam has a sweet spot for bluegrass gospel tunes too with 3 gems that would warm up any Sunday morning gospel show. But for me, the real standout is Adam's authoritative mandolin picking. The best example of this is a high-speed romp through the classic Daybreak In Dixie. Here, he displays the three T's of musicianship-taste, tone and technique and all at 168 beats per minute! Although Adam Steffey is no longer playing with Union Station, you can also catch him with Mountain Heart and a variety of session recordings such as Knee Deep In Bluegrass. So if you're fan of great, modern mandolin picking I urge you to check out Grateful, you'll be grateful you did!
--by Pete Goodall, reviewer for "Nwbluegrass""