Echo In The Valley
Country
| Sep 2018
Reviews
Tom McCarter
Reviewed 2018-09-10
Reviewed 2018-09-10
Reviewed: 2018-09-09
Genre: Country
FCCs: none
Review: Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn are two of the least complacent musicians around. With skill that can border on otherworldly, both push boundaries, stretching their sound beyond bluegrass, across continents and into everything from prog-rock to Eastern instrumentation. They're also a married couple, which only enhances the seamlessness of their interplay. Their new album often sounds like the work of considerably more than two people. According to the pair's self-imposed rules for the project, it actually can't be. Those rules include a banjos-only policy for instrumentation, with no guest players and nothing on record that the two can't duplicate in a live setting. This outing provides a grand and inviting vocal showcase for Washburn, who remains a warm, relatable, versatile singer. The album just keeps surprising. For all its sonic detours, Echo in the Valley comes from a consistent place thematically, with songs that sing the praises of hard-won perspective and hands outstretched to the vulnerable. This disc ties the many threads of their interests into a work that dazzles without sacrificing a shred of approachability.
If You Like: Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Ry Cooder, Rebekah Rolland, Norman Blake, Maddy Prior
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
*1/ Over The Divide (3:04) – banjo starts> midtempo song> quick stop
*2/ Take Me To Harlan (4:08) – percussive start> midtempo song> quick stop
**3/ Let It Go (3:58) – midtempo song> quick fade
4/ Don’t Let it Bring You Down (3:27) – vocal starts> uptempo song> quick fade
5/ Medley: Sally In The Garden/Big Country/ Molly Put The Kettle On (7:20) – banjo duet, starts slow, then swings uptempo> quick stop
6/ My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains (4:45) – banjo starts> slow blues song> crescendo> slow song> fade
*7/ Hello Friend (3:13) – banjo starts> midtempo song> fade> pause> song> fade
8/ If I Could Talk To A Younger Me (3:22) – vocal starts slow, music swings uptempo while the vocal stays steady midtempo> quick stop
*9/ On This Winding Road (3:19) – banjo starts> midtempo song> quick stop
**10/ Come All You Coal Miners (3:53) -banjo starts> uptempo song> quick stop
*11/ Bloomin’ Rose (5:46) – banjo starts> midtempo song> slow fade
.
Genre: Country
FCCs: none
Review: Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn are two of the least complacent musicians around. With skill that can border on otherworldly, both push boundaries, stretching their sound beyond bluegrass, across continents and into everything from prog-rock to Eastern instrumentation. They're also a married couple, which only enhances the seamlessness of their interplay. Their new album often sounds like the work of considerably more than two people. According to the pair's self-imposed rules for the project, it actually can't be. Those rules include a banjos-only policy for instrumentation, with no guest players and nothing on record that the two can't duplicate in a live setting. This outing provides a grand and inviting vocal showcase for Washburn, who remains a warm, relatable, versatile singer. The album just keeps surprising. For all its sonic detours, Echo in the Valley comes from a consistent place thematically, with songs that sing the praises of hard-won perspective and hands outstretched to the vulnerable. This disc ties the many threads of their interests into a work that dazzles without sacrificing a shred of approachability.
If You Like: Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Ry Cooder, Rebekah Rolland, Norman Blake, Maddy Prior
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
*1/ Over The Divide (3:04) – banjo starts> midtempo song> quick stop
*2/ Take Me To Harlan (4:08) – percussive start> midtempo song> quick stop
**3/ Let It Go (3:58) – midtempo song> quick fade
4/ Don’t Let it Bring You Down (3:27) – vocal starts> uptempo song> quick fade
5/ Medley: Sally In The Garden/Big Country/ Molly Put The Kettle On (7:20) – banjo duet, starts slow, then swings uptempo> quick stop
6/ My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains (4:45) – banjo starts> slow blues song> crescendo> slow song> fade
*7/ Hello Friend (3:13) – banjo starts> midtempo song> fade> pause> song> fade
8/ If I Could Talk To A Younger Me (3:22) – vocal starts slow, music swings uptempo while the vocal stays steady midtempo> quick stop
*9/ On This Winding Road (3:19) – banjo starts> midtempo song> quick stop
**10/ Come All You Coal Miners (3:53) -banjo starts> uptempo song> quick stop
*11/ Bloomin’ Rose (5:46) – banjo starts> midtempo song> slow fade
.
Recent airplay
Bloomin' Rose
That; Not Bluegrass — Jan 08, 2025
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
Traditions — May 14, 2024
Bloomin' Rose
That's not Bluegrass — May 17, 2023
Over The Divide
Traditions — Nov 03, 2022
My Home?S Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
That's Not Bluegrass — Mar 10, 2020
Come All You Coal Miners
That's Not Bluegrass — Mar 03, 2020
Charting
2018-09-13 — 2018-11-15
Country/Bluegrass
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 2 |
| Oct 28 | 2 |
| Oct 21 | 1 |
| Oct 14 | 2 |
| Oct 7 | 5 |
| Sep 30 | 1 |
| Sep 23 | 5 |
| Sep 16 | 1 |
Track listing
| 1. | Over The Divide | ||
| 2. | Take Me To Harlan | ||
| 3. | Let It Go | ||
| 4. | Don't Let It Bring You Down | ||
| 5. | Medley: Sally In The Garden / Big Country / Molly Put The Kettle On | ||
| 6. | My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains | ||
| 7. | Hello Friend | ||
| 8. | If I Could Talk To A Younger Me | ||
| 9. | On This Winding Road | ||
| 10. | Come All You Coal Miners | ||
| 11. | Bloomin' Rose |