Pickin Praisin & Singin

Pine Mountain Railroad has always put at least one gospel song on every album, but this is their first set devoted entirely to songs of praise, salvation, and thanksgiving. There are a few contemporary songs here, including Cody Shuler's "My Eyes Shall Be on Canaan's Land" which gets the record off to a rousing, sanctified start, but most of the material is traditional, songs that any lover of folk, gospel, and bluegrass music will be familiar with. And while the songs are familiar, the arrangements are anything but. Shuler and the rest of the Pine Mountain crew show off their versatility with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, even for a band known for its innovative approach to the music. Three tunes, "I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy" (also known as "Crying Holy to the Lord"), "So High (You Can't Get Over It)," and "Run On" are delivered in a style close to African-American Jubilee singing. The band's sharp vocal harmonies are on full display; particularly impressive are Shuler's soaring tenor and Bill McBee's rumbling bass. "I Bowed on My Knees" adds a bouncy ragtime guitar to the uplifting vocal call and response, "So High" and "Run On" are sung a cappella. Jerry Cole shines on lead vocal on "So High" while Shuler's pure, high melismas are the highlight on "Run On" as he trades off lead vocals with Cole. Their singing reminds us of the debt that doo wop and R&B singers owe to gospel music. "When We All Get to Heaven" and "What Would You Give in Exchange" are brother duets in the style of the Louvins or the Stanleys with Cole and Shuler blending their voices in righteous close harmonies. "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be" and "Where the Soul Never Dies" are taken at midtempo with Flake's fiddle and Shuler's mandolin taking mellow solos. Shuler sings "The Old Rugged Cross" using a George Jones-like drawl while the band plays a slow honky tonk rhythm. Uptempo tunes include "The Gospel Ship" and "Over in the Gloryland" featuring Dale Perry's banjo, and "Getting Ready to Leave This World" which closes the album with a supercharged jam that lets everyone shine vocally and instrumentally. ~ j. poet, Rovi