Chatham County Line Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Chatham County Line are a band deeply in love with bluegrass, but they aren't willing to be tied down by its traditions and conventions, and few groups have been as successful at fusing contemporary songwriting styles with the classic acoustic sound. IV -- which, sure enough, is the group's fourth album -- is full of inspired picking from all four members (Dave Wilson on guitar, vocals and harmonica, John Teer on mandolin, fiddle, viola and vocals, Chandler Holt on banjo, guitar and vocals, and Greg Readling on upright bass, pedal steel guitar, piano, and vocals) though this band is more interested in serving the songs than in showing off blazing speed, and producer and engineer Chris Stamey brings a natural, live sound to the recordings that gives this music a warmth and presence akin to sitting in the room with the band. But as good as Chatham County Line are (and they're very good indeed), what really sets this group apart is the strength of the songwriting; Wilson wrote or co-wrote all but three selections on IV, and he's an intelligent and eloquent lyricist who can also conjure a strong melody, whether he's celebrating some rowdy good times on "Let It Rock," charting the path of a grown-up love affair on "One More Minute" or bitterly recalling the true story of an act of racist violence in 1963 in "Birmingham Jail." Teer and Holt also wrote some songs for this set, and if they're not as prolific, they show Wilson doesn't have a monopoly on the talent in songcraft. The maturity and clear voice of Chatham County Line's music has more in common with top-shelf singer/songwriter stuff than cookie-cutter bluegrass, and IV delivers some absorbing, contemplative food for thought along with plenty of great acoustic music; anyone who thinks Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek are setting the high-water mark for adventurous bluegrass should certainly give this album a listen. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Speed of the Whippoorwill'
Release Date 5/30/2006
Tracks 14
Label Yep Roc
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On their third album in four years, Chatham County Line enlisted producer Brian Paulson to help them bring their raw & ready vision to digital. Featuring ten new Dave Wilson originals, a co-write between him and mandonlinist John Teer, a Teer original, and one by banjoist Chandler Holt, along with a cover of Don Robertson, the formula isn't all that different -- most of this is contemporary bluegrass that could have been recorded in the heyday of the Stanley Brothers or Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. Speed of the Whippoorwill is more sophisticated, however, mostly in the lyrics of Wilson, who employs humor along with heartbreak in his songs. There is a more Mark Twain-like view of the world, even if it is obvious in places. Check the lyrics to "By the Riverside": "Skipped out of work, just to ease my thoughts/Went down to the riverside, just to get lost/Got some fishing line and a hickory limb/Sat there thinking about Huck & Jim." The bluegrass stomp is plentiful here and it always works: "Company Blues," "Rock Pile," the breakdown "Savoy Special," and "Coming Home." Less successful are the ballads, such as the Louvin Brothers-inspired "They Were Just Children" and "Waiting Paradise." They're too long, even as story-songs, and they are wordy and overly redundant of their forbears. However, the swinging bluegrass of "Day I Die" is tight, melodic, full of killer harmonies, and punchy as all get out. "Confederate Soldier" is a straight-up country tune with Greg Reading playing pedal steel, and lyrically it works, but again, it takes too long for the story to reveal itself. For those who enjoyed the first pair of Chatham County Line records, this one will not come as a surprise, but will appear more adventurous. For those just coming to the band, either the band's self-titled debut or Route 23 would be better places to begin. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Chatham County Line's second trip to the well proves to be just as refreshing as their first. Route 23 travels the same dusty back roads in the same open-top convertible, singing harmony-filled acoustic bluegrass songs that would do Bill Monroe proud. Recorded primarily around one microphone by producer Chris Stamey, the group croons and stomps with an authenticity that belies their young age. The mournful title track serves as an early highlight, with songwriter and vocalist Dave Wilson recalling the feeling of his own father's hardware store (here transposed to a service station) being left behind after the State re-routed the highway away from his place of business. This theme of a lost yesteryear knits its way through the entire album, carried by freight trains, reenacted in gunfights, and preached from the pulpit. Bright banjos and mandolins ring across these tracks, punctuated by the band's now-trademark harmonies and decidedly lo-fi studio techniques, making for a warm journey back through winding roads and Philco radios. ~ Zac Johnson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Whereas the majority of contemporary bluegrass albums are cleaned up and refined to the point of sounding a little sterile, on their self-titled debut, Chatham County Line demonstrate the importance of a warm and organic recording environment and how it leads to a naturally soulful end result. Centered around a single microphone, the band plays acoustic bluegrass instruments in the traditional style, but there's a sly wink in the music -- like in the trunk of their 1946 Nash Rambler there may be some Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers records underneath the Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs LPs. Any nods to rock & roll are successfully stifled in their songwriting though, as the band specializes in purely honest and irony-free honky tonk bluegrass, earnestly sung and expertly picked as if "marketing strategies" and "the 18-24 demographic" never existed. In fact, if the sound quality weren't so terrific, it would be easy to convince any of the O Brother, Where Art Thou neophytes that this in fact is a lost recording of Jimmy Martin jamming with the Osborne Brothers backstage at the 1967 Bean Blossom Festival. The tearfully beautiful "WSM (650)" recounts vocalist Dave Wilson's childhood memories of growin' up poor with only the light from the Grand Ole Opry coming through his family's old RCA radio to keep him warm. While the subject could seem trite or even mocking, the band's reverence for the institution of old Nashville and the memories of childhood keep the song faithful to the writer's intentions. Similarly, the epic story-song "Song for John Hartford" is not only a passionate tribute to the fiddle player, but contains enough historical information that it should be taught to third-graders along with story problems and the names of the planets. Other highlights include the mouth-watering "Bacon in the Skillet," the pleading "Sightseeing," guaranteed to get any man out of the doghouse, a reverent cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," and damn near every other track on the record. The album falls into the category of "carpet music" because it is wall-to-wall good, covering everything from beginning to end with no marks where the seams meet and no holes in the weave -- just a solid, beautiful collection of terrific songs and equally terrific performances. ~ Zac Johnson, All Music Guide
