In February 2009, when Cincinnati-based Americana powerhouse Magnolia Mountain released their debut album, "Nothing As It Was", it was praised by alt-weekly CityBeat as a "soulful, haunting, and pure" album by an "amazing band" that "announced Mark Utley as one of the finest songwriters in the area".
Now, a year and a half later, after countless live gigs and an exciting fine-tuning of the line-up of band members, comes "Redbird Green", an ambitious 17-song double album that showcases the impressive organic musical growth of one of the midwest's finest roots music groups.
From the opening Johnny Cash swagger of "Gone", through the Appalachian/Cajun musical stew of "Ma Belle Marie", the backporch stomp of "Medicine Man", the electric alt.country rock of "Like Any Other", to the Black Gospel-infused "I Do Believe" and beyond, "Redbird Green" bolts out of the gate with a dizzying array of American musical styles.
"Redbird Green" is full of Magnolia Mountain's trademark instrumental prowess and gorgeous two-, three-, and four-part vocal harmonies. The beautiful three-part harmonies of Utley, Melissa English, and Jordan Neff are now augmented by the addition to the band of Neff's partner in Shiny & the Spoon, Amber Nash.
The band's signature interplay of acoustic and electric instruments is on full display on the new album, even moreso with the addition of Cincinnati music icon David Rhodes Brown (Warsaw Falcons, 500 Miles to Memphis) to the formidable line-up of guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Neff, Bob Lese on mandolin, folk harmonica and blues harp, Utley on acoustic guitar and banjo, upright bassist Bob Donisi and drummer Matt Frazer.
Magnolia Mountain is joined on this album by a veritable who's who of Cincinnati roots musicians, including Ed Cunningham (Comet Bluegrass All-Stars), Mike Oberst (The Tillers), Jessie Berne (Lagniappe), Adam Pleiman (KY Struts), Rashon Murph (The Joneses), and more.
"Redbird Green" reflects Magnolia Mountain's "big tent" approach to Americana music with songs like the bluegrass-influenced "Early Morning Train", country-flavored tunes like "Savannah" and "Emma Claire", the western swing yodel of "Cry, Baby", the snaky swamp-blues of "Opalene", the 50's R&B throwback "Reconsider (Please Don't Go)", and the rockabilly rocket ride of the band's raucous show-stopper "Hellbound Train".
Also included are a haunting cover of Hank Williams' "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and an updated adaptation of West Virginia coal mining activist Elaine Purkey's labor classic "One Day More", rewritten to reflect the band's passion to fight the scourge of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian mountains.
The album ends with the title track, a Springsteen-styled meditation on the American Dream as seen through the eyes of an unemployed father struggling to hang on.
The album reunites the band with producer John Curley (Afghan Whigs) at Ultrasuede Studio in Cincinnati. Also back from the first album are the stunning album cover photos of world-renowned photographer Michael Wilson.
"Redbird Green" will be released on two formats, compact disc and vinyl double album, on Saturday, June 19, 2010.
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