Search - Charlie Sizemore :: Good News

Very enjoyable, notable album from a very happening band tha

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 08/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 39:05 -- Charlie Sizemore has always been an overachieving Renaissance man. In 1977 (at only age 17), the Kentuckian's first big challenge was filling Keith Whitley's shoes as guitarist and lead singer with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. During his nine years with Stanley, he established a strong and credible reputation as one of the band's top lead singers. In 1986, Charlie formed his own group and returned to school "to learn" at the University of Kentucky where he subsequently graduated with honors. The hard worker is known as the only bluegrassers to both play the Grand Ole Opry and deliver a college commencement address all in the same year. Sizemore today is a family man who also maintains a successful law practice and fronts his own band with a style that "straddles a line between mountain bluegrass and modern country." His debut on the prestigious Rounder label, "Good News" is just that - a set of stirring music that causes us to rejoice and cheer his re-emergence on record after a five year hiatus.



The first impression I gathered about "Good News" is about how all the chosen songs deal with a man's tender interactions and touching relationships with other people, objects, and personal thoughts. The album begins and ends with reflective personal statements. Songs like "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" and "I Won't Be Far from Here" reveal the emotional honesty of someone opening up to bear one's soul. At the end of the set, "My Dying Day" and "Good News When I Die" provide two different dichotomous perspectives on life's passing. During the course of the set, Sizemore revisits the album's theme with Eddie Noack's "No Blues is Good News" about the happy feelings of a successful, loving relationship. That tune conveys a different kind of mood than feeling like a stone thrown to the "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart," a song which could've been arranged in a higher key to perhaps infuse it with more fervent energy. Sizemore also sings stories about a paternal relationship (Devil on a Plow) and a playful bluegrass musical association with the members of "Alison's Band."



His nostalgic song recalling the homeplace is Paul Craft's "Mama Turn Aloosa My Soul" that hastens back to a place in the country, just a single-board shack. Raised on Kentucky's Puncheon Creek, Charlie's own Civil War song (co-written with Tom T. and Dixie Hall) tells a poignant story of "The Silver Bugle" calling the boys back home. Another song from the Halls, "Whiskey Willie" is a bouncing ballad of a character who lived in that same time period and kept the soldiers half-drunk for a very poignant reason revealed at the end of the tale. In a more contemporary time, a rowdy drunk has an easy excuse for his wrongdoings, just "Blame it on Vern." Ron Workman's "Hey Moon" provides an opportunity for Matt DeSpain's lead vocals to have a conversation with that lunar body. It's a good snappy song that illuminates the set. "Hey moon, Won't you come on out tonite / Shine down with your halo so bright / Hey moon, while I hold my baby tight / Won't you light up her smile and come on out tonight?"



Sizemore collaborated with the album co-producer Buddy Cannon to pen a song about a dependence on the bottle, "The Less That I Drink." It would've been nice for the band to present a hard-driving uptempo instrumental showcase, and some of Charlie's material really seems to beg for some fiddle in the mix. Those are minor criticisms, however, and this band has powerful vocal and instrumental prowess. Besides Charlie, the group includes Danny Barnes (mandolin, clawhammer banjo, vocals), Matt DeSpain (Dobro, Hawaiian guitar, vocals), Wayne Fields (banjo) and John Pennell (bass). All in all, "Good News" is a very enjoyable and notable album that broadcasts the music of a very happening band that is making waves. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

"

Good News - The Charlie Sizemore Band's New Album is HOT!

R. Cherry | 08/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Charlie Sizemore Band has put together a new album after five years. The new release is due on the streets August 14. Ron Thomason of the Dry Branch Firesquad, wrote the liner notes and says "Charlie Sizemore is back, singing and writing bluegrass music. He's better than ever..." That, is an understatement!!

I've been listening to this album over and over again. This is one of the finest collections of lively bluegrass that I've encountered for a while now. Maybe being away from bluegrass is a good thing because this album has a unique character, lively presence and original presentation. There's nothing not to like here.

Thomason also says, "This CD is filled with the stuff that demands your attention -- makes you listen. Don't try to operate dangerous machinery or start your taxes while Charlie is singing. You'll just get hurt." Among the humor, there is a bit of truth to this statement. You'll need to set yourself down and take a hard listen to this release. You'll be glad you did.

There are the sole reaching songs like "Blame It on Vern" or "Devil on a Plow." Ballad stories like "The Silver Bugle" are here and a familiar "I've fallen and I Can't Get Up" are here too. Then there's a song about "Alison's Band" referring to Alison Krauss and Union Station. You get some Tom T. Hall material and rightly so as the album was recorded in Tom T. and Dixie Hall's studio in Franklin, TN.

If this were a black vinyl LP of days gone past, the album would be a Slinky by now. It's been played, replayed and played again. We waited for five years for this event. We can wait a few more weeks for the album to hit the streets. It will be worth the wait! This is a well rounded album that will surely get your attention.

Bob Cherry,
CYBERGRASS"

Heartfelt, mature music from a bluegrass master

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 08/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A rock-solid bluegrass set from singer-guitarist Charlie Sizemore, known in his teens as the kid who sang lead in Ralph Stanley's band after Keith Whitley split for Nashville, and now a forty-something tunesmith revered as a songwriter of high standing in both the country and bluegrass fields. This is Sizemore's first album in five years, and fans are well-primed for its delights... Like many great craftsman, Sizemore appreciates the work of others, and in addition to several of his own fine compositions, and here he includes gems from Hank Cochran, Paul Craft, Tom T. Hall, three songs co-written with Nashville legend Buddy Cannon and a hillbilly boogie oldie from Eddie Noack. There are songs about the Civil War, drinking, love lost and life lived, and a hilarious tribute song, "Alison's Band" (where Sizemore fantasizes about hitting the road with bluegrass diva Alison Krauss...) All in all, this is a fine offering from an old pro -- hopefully it won't take so long for the next one to come out! (DJ Joe Sixpack)"