Search - Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands :: The Golden West

Their approach bridges the music perfectly with ones who hav

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 12/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 52:53 -- Laurie Lewis' bandmates call themselves "The Right Hands," but they sure sound ambidextrous to me. For three days in July 2005, the quintet of Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Scott Huffman, Craig Smith, and Todd Phillips hung out at Sage Arts Studio outside Arlington, Wa. A self-proclaimed "river rat," Laurie gained energy from the fast-moving current of the Stillaguamish just outside their guest house door. Lewis admits that they'd planned to be more prepared for the session, but that might've actually detracted from some of the spontaneous energy that the currents of this album exude. Her own observation was, "Everything seemed so fresh and enticing to us, hearing and playing the majority of these tunes for the first time as a group."



Not just a fantastic fiddler and singer, Lewis does some exceptional songwriting for this CD that also includes covers from Jimmy Martin, John Hartford, Albert Brumley, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Rodgers, and even other more contemporary writers like Billy Joe Shaver and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Laurie contributes two compositions. "Your Eyes" opens the set with the kind of unique and expressive sound that gives Laurie a creative signature sound. You can't help but smile at the catchy melodic progression and hook "I was in the lead, but I stumbled at the rail. I was flying high, but I'm a kite with no tail. I'm gonna fall, and I was doing so well, until I looked into your eyes."



Laurie's much slower reflective acoustic country number, "A Hand To Hold," features a duet with Linda Ronstadt as they sing this tribute in song for guitarist Charles Sawtelle with passionate lines like "My mind has been full, but my voice has been still, in all this time since you've been gone." A minor point, but the song could've been even more effective as a male/female duet. While all lyrics for the album can be found at her website, I sure wish that her short insightful notes about each song had been included in the CD's digipak. How cool is it to know that "Burley Coulter's Song For Kate Helen Branch," for example, was one of Wendell Berry's poems that he asked Laurie to put it to music? And that Linda Rondstadt suggested "Rank Stranger" for this album, based on their experience first singing with The Bluebirds (Laurie and Linda with Maria Muldaur) at Wintergrass in 2005. Their high, soaring soprano notes together (along with Tom's harmony) are amazing.



A jilted woman gets her revenge in Karah Stokes' poetic "The Mourning Cloak," a species of butterfly that becomes a "messenger of sorrow deep." An interesting perspective on leaving home or selling the farm is "Bury Me In Bluegrass," that is a lyrical statement consistent with the bumper sticker on Laurie's guitar case that proclaims, "Growth Destroys Bluegrass Forever." With that sentiment also in mind, Laurie and the Right Hands walk a fine line with their thoughtful music. Their approach manages to bridge the music perfectly with ones who have gone on before them. We don't exactly know the inspiration behind Father of Bluegrass Bill Monroe's instrumental "The Golden West," but we do know that those in California, as well as throughout the world, have embraced the power and intensity that the genre has to offer. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, the Golden West

Fred M. Newmann | 11/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Featuring the best of Laurie Lewis' melding of Old-Time, traditional country and bluegrass music with newer instrumental expressions and songs, this whole album (13 tunes) is terrific, thanks to Laurie's vocals, fiddling, arranging, and song-writing and her talented "right hands" Tom Rozum, Craig Smith, Scott Huffman, and Todd Phillips. Four tunes immediately stand out for me.

As "Your Eyes" began I thought I was about to hear some version of Don't Let Your Deal Go Down--but then.....wow! Laurie put lyrics and music together in a great arrangement, with singing so vital, hard drivin, and naughty. It reminds me of "Two Long Years" by Hugh Ashley that she sang on Craig Smith. And her fiddle break is awesome.

Lewis' marvelously touching, "Hand to Hold" brought tears to my eyes, similar in a way to feelings I have listening to to Tim Obrien's "Time to Learn". After reading about the song's connection to Charles Sawtelle, it became even more meaningful.

Tom Rozum sings an amazing rendition of "99 Year Blues". What superb blue yodeling! Terrific inflections and subtleties there that one rarely hears, and Lewis' fiddling on that fits perfectly, including the signature Benny Martin lick which I think I've never heard her play before.

Scott's "Hardluck in Heaven" is another solid keeper for me - a great combination of humor and real blues put to a straightforward tune that anyone could sing.

Learn more about how they made the album, and get the lyrics for all the songs at [...]. Offering this material like this on the web site is a great service.

Fred Newmann, Madison, WI

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Golden West by Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands

Lorna Shofner | Ventura, California | 10/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard a couple of songs on KPFK's Folk Scene" yesterday evening and that was it - great musicianship, beautiful and soulfull delivery. Would like to hear more of the old timey ballad like "A Hand to Hold" which highlighted Laurie Lewis's bluesy soulfulness. Also, I loved the resonance and genuine sound of the vocalist on the River Song, as well as the lyrics. Thank you for this auditory delight."