Clinch Mountain Sweethearts in Bloomington, MN

Clinch Mountain Sweethearts
can be thought of as a
bluegrass
version of
John Prine
's
In Spite of Ourselves
. Like
Prine
,
Stanley
is joined by a number of female singers, both later and classic, on 16
gems. In fact, several names --
Iris DeMent
Lucinda Williams
, and
Melba Montgomery
-- show up on both collections.
Maria Muldaur
cuts loose and gives it her all on the bluesy
"The Memory of Your Smile."
When
joins her, the sound is oh so lonesome.
DeMent
joins the fray on
"Ridin' That Midnight Train"
and
"Trust Each Other,"
and while both cuts work pretty well, the
country
inflections in her voice get lost in the up-tempo material. One surprising cut features
Chely Wright
who, believe it or not, offers a good old-time vocal on
"Angel Band"
that has almost nothing in common with her trendy Nashville work.
Montgomery
delivers a gutsy take on
Hank Williams
'
"You Win Again,"
which is a tad more believable coming from a female point of view.
The Clinch Mountain Boys
sound great as always. Combining
and old-time, they find the right groove for each piece and never hurry a song.
works better than the
collection, mostly because
is well-matched with most of his co-singers. When their voices don't match, they stay out of each other's way. Once again,
finds
making good music by adding a few contemporary touches to mountain traditions. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.