Catch Tomorrow showcases Bradley in the company of some very special guests including Jim Lauderdale, Tim O'Brien, Jeff White, Steve Gulley (Mountain Heart) and producer Alison Brown. Stand out tracks include an exquisi... more »te gospel duet with Larry Sparks on "Pass Me Not", a traditional country duet with Marty Raybon (Shenandoah) on "Holding on to Nothing" and a collaboration with Irish super group Lunasa. She also delivers some hard driving bluegrass on the self-penned "Run Rufus Run", "Julia Belle" and the soon to be classic "Rita Mae" with the help of her past and current band mates including Michael Cleveland and Jesse Brock.« less
Catch Tomorrow showcases Bradley in the company of some very special guests including Jim Lauderdale, Tim O'Brien, Jeff White, Steve Gulley (Mountain Heart) and producer Alison Brown. Stand out tracks include an exquisite gospel duet with Larry Sparks on "Pass Me Not", a traditional country duet with Marty Raybon (Shenandoah) on "Holding on to Nothing" and a collaboration with Irish super group Lunasa. She also delivers some hard driving bluegrass on the self-penned "Run Rufus Run", "Julia Belle" and the soon to be classic "Rita Mae" with the help of her past and current band mates including Michael Cleveland and Jesse Brock.
Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 10/11/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A wealth of talent backs truegrass song stylist Dale Ann Bradley on her latest album... Next to Bradley's ever-satisfying vocals, fiddler Michael Cleveland provides some of the most consistently sweet playing on here; Compass Records' own Alison Brown plunks the banjo throughout, while Jim Lauderdale, Larry Sparks, Stuart Duncan and Todd Phillips also rub elbows with Bradley's band. Probably the strongest collaboration comes from ex-Shenadoah vocalist Marty Raybon, who digs deep into the a heartrending duet, "Holding On To Nothing," helping impart as much pathos into it as the Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton original. Another highlight comes with Bradley's version of Billy Joe Shaver's "Live Forever" which is as eerie and powerful here as in Shaver's original version. Bradley is one of bluegrass music's great hidden weapons, with one of the style's finest voices. She puts her heart into her work, and plays with grit and fire. She also writes some really nice songs, as the remainder of this record amply demonstrates. Slick and twangy, bouncy and smart, this is a 'grass album worth checking out"
Excellent Buy
James W. Durney | Tampa Bay area | 05/16/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Many reviewers observe that this artist has a great voice for Bluegrass. They say that she has the ability to deliver a song that can catch and hold your attention. I concur, she is an excellent singer, a confident performer and a joy to hear. While she is an excellent reason to buy this CD, the tracks make this a very good buy too. Starting with Rita Mae, there is one fine song after another. Rita Mae, Run Rufus Run and Memories, Miles and Tears should become standards that will get radio play for years. Each of these songs could be an anchor for a CD. Holding on to Nothing, while not a new song fits into the selections and is excellent. Live Forever and I Can't Stand the Rain are lush productions that contrast nicely with Grandma's Gift and Pass Me Not. The only missed note, for me, was the last track Me and Bobby McGee. It is not that this is poorly done or hard to hear. It is just not the Joplin version and I have never felt that could be improved on. Overall, you get 12 songs, three are great eight are above average and one is likable."
An album with a lot of comforting and soothing qualities
J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 12/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Playing Time - 42:19 -- Back in the ol' days, bluegrass was a male-dominated genre of music. Now, we find a large co-ed contingent of musical mechanics who know just how to tune the bluegrass motor. Anchored by Dale Ann Bradley's silky voice and solid guitar rhythms, we hear Vicki Simmons (bass, vocals), Alison Brown (banjo), and Andrea Zonn (vocals) on this well-produced solo project, her third. Dale Ann, a Kentucky preacher's daughter, has fantastic voice, band, songwriting and storytelling. Others helping on this album include Jim Lauderdale, Tim O'Brien, Jeff White, Steve Gulley, Michael Cleveland, Pete Kelly, Andy Hall, Jesse Brock and Glenn Gibson. What a great idea to sing a splendid hymn! (Pass Me Not) with Larry Sparks! Their arrangement is given sparse treatment with only guitar, bass and mandolin accompaniment. And her country duet with Marty Raybon (Holding on to Nothing) recognizes her lifelong objective of being able to sing just like Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner used to. For an essence of the Emerald Isle, "When the Mist Comes Again" is spiced up with the magical accompaniment of the Irish group Lunasa for a profound tale of desertion and alcoholism. For those in search of propulsive bluegrass look no further than "Run Rufus Run," "Julia Belle," and "Rita Mae." Being from Oregon, I could relate to the message in "I Can't Stand the Rain," a soulful song adapted from R&B music that asks "Hey window pain do you remember, how sweet it used to be?" David A. Thompson's "Mercy Railroad" has a spiritual undercurrent of a child being sent to freedom on the Underground Rail while the sorrowful mother finds freedom of her own on Heaven's Mercy Rail.
Dale Ann is more cognizant now about how important the messages and stories are in her songs. Life is often about achieving one's goals and dreams. Faith, hope, compassion and love are the values that she sings about, often as she relates tales about her young moonshiner cousin trying to help his family (Run Rufus Run), grandmother's love and wisdom (Grandma's Gift), and other characters (Rita Mae, Me and Bobby McGee). Inanimate objects have personalities too as she relates in "Memories, Miles and Tears," about a dearly loved family car purchased early in a marriage and that traveled to Niagara Falls and "didn't use a drop of oil." What a great analogy for long-lasting sweet love! Even the feminine qualities of a steamboat are related in John Hartford's "Julia Belle" as the boat itself tells its story.
Dale Ann's own temperament and disposition come through loud and clear. She once said, "When you've got the desire to write and sing, it's who you are...It's important to express something long lasting. Music has the power to be a healing thing." So true ...so true! "Catch Tomorrow" is an album with a lot of comforting and soothing qualities. Dale Ann hasn't won the IBMA's Female Vocalist of the Year Award yet, but she came close as a top nominee in 2006. "Catch Tomorrow" could be driving force and stimulus for Dale Ann the dreamcatcher to finally achieve that honor. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
"
Unfortunate "Wall of Sound" Production Mars Great Talent
William W. Smith | Basking Ridge, NJ USA | 10/28/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Dale Ann Bradley is a great bluegrass singer. She is right up there with Claire Lynch and Lynn Morris as a powerful vocal interpreter. And in this CD she shows her range across a number of different styles. I know diction is not something you normally notice in a bluegrass record, but you can actually catch every word of Run Rufus Run even though they come a maile a minute.
However, the production is simply too lush. The miking is so close you feel as though you are actually inside the instrument, and there seem to be so many instruments mixed in that you completely lose the sense of a band playing together. Additionally, there seems to be heavy reverb on the whole affair, which gives the impression of playing inside an airplane hangar. For me, at any rate, bluegrass needs to have an ensemble feel and this recording lacks that.
On the positive side, Dale Ann's voice is in fine form and the duets are beautiful. I especially liked the old Porter and Dolly standard "Holding on to Nothing". For your vocal to stand up well to the pipes of Dolly Parton is really saying something.
The high water mark for Dale Ann Bradley is probably "Cumberland River Dreams", and I would recommend that record to anyone just hearing about this wonderful singer. This recording is just a little too over the top, not helped all that much by the star studded cast of sidemen and the Phil Spector production values.
"
Bluegrass music full of heart and soul.
Bluegrass Girl | Lexington, Kentucky, USA | 01/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD of Dale Ann Bradley's "Catch Tomorrow" is filled with a variety of Bluegrass music straight from the heart. Bradley's voice is soulful and genuine and the fiddling by Michael Cleveland is as good as any ever heard. Highly recommended."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
