Lonesome Pine

Combining crack musicianship, solid vocals, and good songs, gained a reputation as a premiere supergroup in the mid-'90s at . Between 1995 and 1998, the band cut three albums for the label, , , and . And as so often happens, the band, for one reason or the other, moved on to a new label. But as the compilation states, it all started here, and collects cuts from all three albums to create a portrait of a young group on the make. Listening to early cuts like gives the impression that members knew what they were about from the start. Blessed with three lead singers, a distinctive dobro player, and fine harmony, songs like the lead track sound without sounding old-fashioned. One oddity is that is only 44 minutes, which means there should've been room for nearly 30 more minutes of music on this disc. This takes nothing away from the 13 songs here, but the album, as excellent as it is, could've been an even more definitive collection. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.