Thunderin’ Bluegrass is an album chalked with talent, variety and a whole lot of fun. The first thing that I noticed was the really creative way in which this record was produced… because of the fact that there were no overdubs or second takes, it feels as if the band is in the room with you as you listen to this album. It’s a really delightful touch to a delightful project. As somebody who was born and raised in the southern US, with a father who has always cherished a “story song”, I couldn’t help gaining his love for “story songs” myself over the years. Maybe that’s another reason this album is so endearing to me. It’s packed with a variety of such songs. The album begins with Joe’s original, “She Has a Gypsy Heart”, a sad but equally danceable little song about lost love. Next is “Those Memories of You”, a melancholy piece on which Susan delivers a very memorable vocal performance. Joe’s spirited arrangement of “Mandolin King Rag” follows, exuding a bit of a ragtime feel and some terrific solos! “Copenhagen, Beechnut and Skoal” is a lot of fun to listen to, and as on every other cut, it sounds like the musicians were having a grand ol’ time recording this one. Next is Joe’s touching “Mother’s Songs”, a beautiful little number that I think many mothers’ children can relate to in some way. Side one ends with “On Down the Line”, a song I’ve always loved, and which, like all the other pieces found here, is given a really delightful treatment by Cold Thunder. Side two opens with Joe’s lovely “My Heart Remembers Yesterday.” This song is one of my favorites on the album. The chord progression and lyrics caught my attention immediately on listening, and the wistful nature of this piece pulls at my heartstrings each time I hear it. The band’s take on “wayfaring Stranger” is beautiful, and the tune “Little Rabbit” is delivered here with tons of energy and talent. I must give special attention to their cover of Jim Croce’s timeless song “Age.” Again, I must think of my dad when listening to this song, as Croce is one of his heroes, and subsequently became one of mine as well. This is such a nice and different take on a classic song, and I applaud the band for adding this one to the album. But I’m biased. Terrific job with this one! “Why You Been Gone So Long” has an irresistible chorus that tends to stick in my head and leave me singing it for hours, while “Little Whitewashed Chimney” is likely to bring a tear to the eye. The final cut, “Battle of New Orleans”, is a song I’ve always enjoyed, and this is an entirely unique spin on it. You can distinctly hear the broad smile in Joe’s voice as he delivers the verses. What fun! To conclude, this is a delightful, very well done and fun-filled album. There are wonderful originals here, and some great arrangements of classics as well. I enjoy listening to it often, and am sure others, whether they are bluegrass fans or not, will as well! Definitely give this one a try! Very highly recommended!

The music is mostly bluegrass with a modern feel to it. This is old-time music that doesn't have an old-timey feel to it. While always keeping bluegrass at the centre of its sound, this band wanders into folk, country, and even jazz stylings. The result is an eclectic set held together by its bluegrass underpinnings. The choice of songs here reflects and influences the eclectic sound. Four of the songs are written by Joe Ross and maintain a folkish bluegrass style. Several songs are arrangements of traditional folk songs. Then there are songs by writers as disparate as Jim Croce, Mickey Newberry, and Patty Loveless. There's even a version of Johnny Horton's pop novelty hit, "The Battle of New Orleans." The musicians of Cold Thunder are talented and are clearly very comfortable playing with one another. The instruments weave their sounds together like finely woven cloth. It's clear that Ross has been with this group a long time. The credits on the CD are a bit misleading as Ross is not with Cold Thunder but is actually an integral part of the group. It's hard to tell from the credits who is the vocalist on any specific song. Multi-instrumentalist Chuck Holloway and Joe Ross sing on different songs. No nasal Mac Wiseman bluegrass vocals here, but full-bodied contemporary country sounds. Whichever man is singing on any specific song, the vocals are strong and effective. Susan Blanton has a powerful voice that fits equally well with folk or country style singing. As performed by this group, Jim Croce's "Age" sounds like a traditional Irish song as such songs were updated in mid-century by artists such as The Clancy Brothers. What brings it home to the U.S.A. is the unmistakable American accent on the vocals. This is a bright, spritely piece that's perhaps one of the more interesting in this set. Susan Blanton brings to "Those Memories of You" a sound that is at once hard-edged and plaintive. This is a powerful interpretation that immediately catches the ear and holds the listener until the song ends. Blanton's interpretation of "Wayfaring Stranger" is soulful and moving. This traditional folk song and its melancholy mood seems timesless and eternal. My first recollection of this song is listening to my parents' recording by Burl Ives when I was a child. Since then, I've heard many versions by a variety of artists. Blanton makes an interesting addition to the canon. While Susan Blanton is listed as playing Cajun and blues-flavoured fiddle, her style is often closer to the type of violin work heard in old jazz and ragtime songs. Her excursions away from purely country fiddling add an element of interest and sometimes tension to music that could at times seem run-of-the-mill. "Mandolin King Rag" is more 1920's jazz than bluegrass, a jumping tune that's made for dancing. It's easy to imagine the flappers and their beaux flying around some ballroom dance floor. Here, Blanton is much less a fiddler than a swinging violinist. One of the male vocalists even throws in a couple of oody ata tata's over the music. Over all, this is a playful tune that's just fun to hear. Cold Thunder's version of "The Battle of New Orleans" falls down in a number of ways. For some reason, perhaps in an attempt to "modernize" the song, the group has changed a number of words in the lyric. The most garish is converting "wasn't nigh as many" to the much more ordinary and less interesting "wasn't quite as many" instead. Instrumentally and vocally, the song lopes along to a lame and repetitive rhythm that soon gets tired. It also strikes me that in changing this pop song to bluegrass, the group could have gone much further. Of course, my perception may be blurred by memories of Homer and Jethro's wonderful parody, "The Battle of Camp Kookamonga," with its lively bluegrass edge. Cold Thunder is a more than competent group of musicians whose interests and influences clearly reach far beyond bluegrass music. These outside influences add to their bluegrass sound, bringing to it a certain cosmopolitan air. It's easy to understand why their live performances are popular in their home state of Oregon.

They play some pretty solid bluegrass. I especially enjoyed the guitar work of Chuck Holloway on this project. Some of you may recognize Chuck as the banjo player for another Oregon based bluegrass band, Blue River. Along with Chuck's guitar work, you're going to hear some nice mandolin picking by Joe and some smooth fiddle playing by Susan. Couple this with the driving banjo of Ted and solid bass of Johnny, and you've got the sound of Cold Thunder. -- Ken Reynolds, The Bluegrass Breakdown, February, 1999

It's a nice program of finely written originals and creatively interpreted old favorites. I have given airplay to "She Has A Gypsy Heart," "Mother's Songs," and "Battle of New Orleans." --Dave Higgs, Host, Bluegrass Breakdown, WPLN, Brentwood, Tenn.