Contemporary bluegrass has as much in common with older styles of country as it does bluegrass, and seems to succeed by combining instrumental rusticity (banjo, mandolin) with smooth vocals.
Ralph Stanley II comes from bluegrass royalty and tours as part of his father's band, but he's updated the old
Stanley style and songs for the 21st century.
Carrying On, then, includes mostly classic material from
the Stanleys (
Carter and
Ralph),
A.P. Carter, and
Bascom Lamar Lunsford presented in a contemporary style. There are also a couple of originals co-written by
Stanley II. He's joined for solid versions of "Single Girl," "Mountain Dew," and "Ain't It Hard" by mandolinist
John Rigsby, guitarist
James Alan Shelton, banjoist Steve Sparkman, fiddler
Tim Crouch, guitarist R.J. Rigsby, and bassist
David Smith. There's also time on
Carrying On for religion on "Welcoming Tomb" and "Map of God's Highway," and a bit of patriotism on "Are You Proud of America." The only small complaint is that a song called "Pretty Woman" sounds a lot like a revamped version of the lead cut, "Ain't It Hard."
Stanley fans -- of the father or the son -- and contemporary bluegrass lovers will be glad the family's carrying the tradition on. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.