Still Climbing Mountains
EnlistingJerry Douglasas  producer, Blue Highway produce a convincing, straight-ahead bluegrass stride.  Unlike in previous recordings, the quintet turns in an all-original set, and  even if only the beaming title track and the animated "Union Man" sound like  future campfire classics, the songwriting, notably by guitarist Tim Stafford, is  never stilted and always melodically memorable. But the lasting pleasures of the  band's Rounder debut owe mostly to the members' versatile musicianship. On the  playful, self-penned "Monrobro,"Rob Ickes's Dobro licks  have the tasteful unpredictability of those from masters such as Douglas, while  the lucid harmonies on gospel numbers like "Mountain of the Lord" place Blue  Highway near the forefront of contemporary bluegrass singing.--Roy  Kasten