It's Just the Night
With a classic sound but a radical range of repertoire, Del McCoury and crew--featuring sonsRonnieon mandolin and Rob on banjo--continue to delight bluegrass purists while bringing new fans into the fold. The most celebrated male vocalist in contemporary bluegrass, McCoury the elder here applies his keening tenor to opening and closing cuts by British folk-rockerRichard Thompson(whose "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" was a McCoury highlight on 2001'sDel and the Boys), revives the'70s country hit "Let That Racehorse Run," and achieves harmonic convergence with gospel'sFairfield Fouron the title track. Ronnie's instrumental romp, "Hillcrest Drive," shows that the band still ranks as one of bluegrass's tightest, while the soaring vocals on "I Can Hear the Angels Singing" soar with the spirit of Appalachia. EvenDelbert McClinton's "Same Kind of Crazy" sounds like a bluegrass standard when Del wraps his vocal cords around it.--Don McLeese