Search - Mark Newton :: Hillbilly Hemingway

...and 3/4 ....No one can stop them from catching their drea

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 12/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 38:58 -- Turning 50 is a big milestone in one's life, and Mark Newton hits the big half century mark on February 20 in 2007. Congrats, Mark! Arriving in Nashville by way of Kentucky and Virginia, Mark seems to have solidified a niche in acoustic country and bluegrass. Over thirty years ago, Mark got his start as a musician in his father's band called Frog Newton and the Tadpoles. During the 70s and 80s, Mark performed with Cabin Hill, Heights of Grass, Knoxville Grass, and Virginia Squires that was voted "Bluegrass Band of 1984" by the Country Music Assn. of Virginia. These were ground-breaking groups who were ahead of their times. In 1990, Mark Newton began promoting the Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Virginia. In 1995, Newton and banjo master Bill Emerson formed a group "Emerson Newton" with Bob Goff (bass) and Emory Lester (mandolin). In 1998, Mark's first solo album "Living a Dream" featured Bill Emerson, Ralph Stanley, Tony Rice, Dudley Connell, and others. The Mark Newton Band formed in 1999, and Mark recorded an album "Follow Me Back to the Fold" featuring duets with Rhonda Vincent, Lynn Morris, Claire Lynch, Dale Ann Bradley, other women bluegrass singers. In 2001, that album won IBMA's Recorded Event of the Year Award. Another 2001 album from the band, "Charlie Lawson's Still," was successful. His splendid "No Boundaries" album came out in 2003.



With assistance of notable musician and songwriter Carl Jackson, this band keeps striving to find just the right songs for continued commercial success. The much buzzed-about group has soulful ballads and lively numbers, most of them with memorable lyrics and hooks. Mark only sings on the project, and his bandmates include Clay Hess (guitar, vocals), Andy Ball (mandolin, vocals), John Wheat (banjo), and Beth Lawrence (bass, vocals). The thrilling ride gives each musician plenty of opportunities to strut their stuff, and that allows "Hillbilly Hemingway" to be a strong collaborative team effort. Added guests are Tony Creasman (drums), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), and Rob Ickes and Randy Kohrs (resophonic guitar). Alecia Nugent and Carl Jackson lend some vocals to the mix.



The album has both the vocal and instrumental presence to elevate the material to radio-friendly fare, and I presume that is the reason for including Creasman's percussion into every track but the gospel quartet, "When the Trumpet Sounds." I certainly can understand and appreciate their reasoning, and I sense that Mark doesn't want to be constrained by boundaries that would restrict him from creating the best possible music that he can.



Their songs are carefully cultivated and arranged around Mark's pleasant baritone on such entertaining songs as their title cut that pays respect to the extraordinary talent of Hank Williams. In a similar context, Newton may be hoping that some of the songs he sings will be noticed by pop singers in much the same way that Hank's were. The repertoire appears to come mainly from Nashville songcrafters, and Carl Jackson and Mike Ward appear in a number of the credits. "Stillhouse Road" was the title track of the debut release from Nashville's Julie Lee. The ones with the most bluegrass sensibilities are Daniel Sayler's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and 5-string player John Wheat's "Downforce." Surprisingly, neither one has Newton in the mix. Lead vocals on the former are ably handled by Clay Hess, and the latter is a high-geared instrumental. Johnny Williams is a good bluegrass songwriter from Virginia, and his "What About You?" has a smokin' strut but lacks any new message we haven't heard before. Andy Ball's lead vocals adorns the country classic, "Fraulein."



Some more of the band's vocal weaponry is demonstrated when Beth Lawrence's silky voice advises us in "Blessings" to change our ways, slow the pace, and enjoy the seasons of life. That song alludes to the fact that "chasing a world full of dreams and plans" can sometimes lead us astray. A couple tracks later, the album closes with Carl Jackson's "Jesse and Me," in which Mark sings a different tune, "No one can stop us from catching our dreams" and "our goal is a lyric on the lips of the world." That sentiment could easily become this band's trademark, and, with a little luck, "it's just a matter of time" before they "have the world by the tail." (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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