Album Notes

Here’s one of those “sleepers” that come at us unexpectedly from time to time—this one from out of the hills of Eastern Kentucky. Tommy Webb is a fine, powerful singer with a distinctive voice, and he has picked out some excellent songs and has enlisted the help of Ronnie Stewart, whose picking (fiddle, banjo, mandolin), arranging and help in the studio has made this a first-rate album. Webb includes two classic Stanley Brothers songs (GOD GAVE YOU TO ME, I’M LOST I’LL NEVER FIND THE WAY), both given first class treatment. His two originals (MARY JANE and the title song) fit right in nicely, and his soulful gospel rendition of TRADE THE OLD CROSS FOR A CROWN is lovely. Considering the hard-core, mountain flavor of Webb’s presentation it is curious that he also includes songs by Contemporary writers Dan Seals, Carl Jackson and Harley Allen—amazingly all of them fit right in perfectly with this hard-driving collection. Perhaps the highlight of the album is a great performance of HARD ROW TO HOE, a fine Jimmy Rushing song that was lost on one of Ricky Skaggs later country albums—this one’s a gem, as is the entire disc. What a pleasure to hear someone who sings it like he means it—tastefully and without pretensions or gimmicks: it reminds us of what real country music used to sound like. WILDWOOD FLOWER BLUES, LONESOME OLD TOWN, HEADIN’ WEST, etc.