Search - Phil Leadbetter :: Slide Effects

One of the Nicest Guys in Music comes into his own!

Mark J. Fowler | Okinawa, Japan | 11/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When anyone I know in Bluegrass mentions Phil Leadbetter one of the first things that is said is what a nice guy he is. Being a nice guy may not make him any better as a musician, but he has made many friends and he compliments his own fine abilities with many of his musical friends on this disc. He borrows Cody Kilby's blistering guitar and Andy Leftwich's mandolin wizardry from Ricky Skagg's Kentucky Thunder. IBMA fiddler of the year for a gazillion years Stuart Duncan warps his chops into the project. Banjo-master Scott Vestal whups up on the 5-string. The result is one of the best Bluegrass CD's of this or any other year. Phil won a pair of IBMA awards this year, for his Dobro-playing (the first time someone other than Jerry Douglas or Rob Ickes has taken the award) and for "California Cottenfields", which opens this disc. Marty Raybon lends his powerful soulful country vocals to the old Merle Haggard tune, and with the band previously mentioned it is, frankly, as good as any Bluegrass track ever laid down. As a dobro specialist Phil makes about half the CD instrumentals, and he joins his all-star cast making "Steel Guitar Rag" and "Remington Ride" into barn-burning Bluegrass breakdowns. The dobro is ideal for slower tunes with expressive sustain abilities, and Phil performs a heavenly version of the hymn "Closer Walk With Thee". After hearing the old favorite "More Pretty Girls Than One" done by these gunslingers I don't know how anyone else can try it!



There are no bad tunes here, as a friend of mine would say, only varying degrees of good. As I said, several tracks are among the finest ever recorded in Bluegrass. Well done, Phil. Your friends are proud of you - and we all like this record!"

Phil Leadbetter slides gold!

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 04/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 44:07 -- Resonator Guitarist Phil Leadbetter's "Slide Effects" is his first CD since "Philibuster" (on Rounder Records) in 1997. With twelve hustling tunes and an illustrious bevy of guests, Leadbetter clearly asserts his stylistic footing as a solo artist, especially as the band members tear up his two original instrumentals, "Moon Racer" and "Sea of Tranquility." Jimmy Gaudreau's "Glide Path," Scott Vestal's "My Little Dancing Girl," Herby Remington's "Remington Ride," and Leon McAuliffe's "Steel Guitar Rag" are also given equally impressive treatment. Although heavier on instrumentals, the CD also gives us some well-chosen songs sung by Marty Raybon, Steve Gulley, Ronnie Bowman, Alice Vestal, Gene Johnson and others. Instrumentalists on this CD include Cody Kilby (guitar), Byron House (bass), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Scott Vestal (banjo), Matt Leadbetter (resonator guitar), Steve Thomas (fiddle) and Andy Leftwich (mandolin, fiddle). Clean, crisp, intricate picking from all involved. Scott Vestal was also key in co-producing, recording and engineering the project.



Hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, Leadbetter is clearly one of the most-happening resonator guitarists in the business today. Phil's father played in a band with Bashful Brother Oswald of the Grand Ole Opry, and "Closer Walk with Thee" on this album actually begins with a 1-minute snippet of Phil's father playing banjo in the mid-1970s shortly before his death. At age 14 (in 1976), Phil performed before President Gerald Ford at the White House. He worked as an intensive care unit nurse for 12 years, and his liner notes say that he listened to the same Steve Wariner tape for over a year while driving to work. One song on this CD, "Tattoos Of Life," was written by Steve Wariner and Max D. Barnes. From 1975-1987, Phil was a regular performer at Silver Dollar City (now Dollywood), then from 1988-89 with Grandpa Jones, and in 1990 with Vern Gosdin. In 1991, he joined J.D. Crowe's band before forming his own band "Wildfire" with several other members of the New South in 2000.



Phil Leadbetter manages some tasty sounds from his various instruments with precise licks only as tricky as they need to be. On "Closer Walk With Thee," he lays in two resonator guitar tracks for a particularly haunting effect. With relaxed showmanship pervasive throughout, Phil Leadbetter slides gold. He's a resophonic guitar trailblazer and not one who is merely content to slide the established groove. Why, he's even got Gibson "Phil Leadbetter Signature Dobro" named for him! (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

"

Outstanding!

Nelson | 09/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Phil is nominated for IBMA Dobro Player of the Year and Instrumental Album of the Year for this album! He has a signature series dobro out with Gibson as well. I love this album as well as the new Wildfire album, Rattle of the Chains. He is the best in the business, and Wildfire can't be stopped!"