himself, Mary Gauthier, Guy Clark, and the album’s producer, Max T. Barnes. It’s a great collection, top to bottom. “Things Change” is the lead-off single
from the album, and Bare filmed his first ever music video for the song. The song is one of Bare’s best compositions ever, and kicks off a ten-song set that showcase Bare in true coun- try style. Bobby teams with one of country music’s current hottest singers, Chris Staple- ton, for an updated reading of his 1963 hit “Detroit City” (written by Mel Tillis and Danny Dill) and “Trophy Girl,” a song co- written by Bare with Guy Clark that was Guy’s last song before he passed. “I Drink” may be the ultimate country song. Part recitation, part singing. Just great. Every song on the album has that true
Bare style, often evoking visions of ol’ Waylon himself. Probably my personal favorite track is “The Trouble with Angels,” a song that is truly “my kind of country.” “The trouble with angels is they never stay/the trouble with angels is they all fly away.” Great lyrics. That’s Bare’s style. Always has been. This is a must-have for any true, real
country music fan. It demands repeat listen- ings. I, for one, hope and pray Bobby Bare is around for many more years. I’m looking for- ward to the album he will record for his 90th birthday. A true classic. One of this writer’s all-time favorite artists.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Tim O’Brien Where the River Meets the Road (Howdy Skies)
I first experienced
the magic of Tim O’Brien at Merlefest many years
ago. He was engaged in an all-star jam with Mollie O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton and a few others. Later that day someone
asked me if I was going to hear Tim play with his band. I said, “But I already have!” (Derek Halsey had not yet schooled me on who’s who in the Americana genre). I caught Tim’s show in the early evening and was it ever amazing. Afterward I flashed my stage pass and went back to shake his hand and thank him for the music. As a musician myself, I re- alize that the time just before you go onstage and the first 20 minutes after you leave the stage are the worst times to have friends and fans bombarding you with questions and de- manding attention. With Tim, he left the stage after a red-hot show, and stepped right into a crowd of around thirty people, smiling, taking time to meet each one. My kind of guy. I laid back and when everyone was gone I ap- proached him. He was very nice, saying he reads our magazine and loves our radio show (he was our guest at least two times) and he fondly recalled the days when we published Gritz magazine and the aforementioned Derek Halsey covered the Americana, blue- grass and mountain music scenes for us. Ap- parently, Derek created quite a great impression. Many of these stars bring up his name when Gritz is mentioned. The next time I saw Tim play was at
The Americana Music conference in Nashville. A relatively small crowd witnessed an amazing show that afternoon. O’Brien recently returned with his fif-
teenth solo album – yes, I said fifteenth - Where The River Meets The Road. The GRAMMY award winning artist, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien turns in an outstanding tribute to his home state of West Virginia, with each song having ties to the great state. As a songwriter, O’Brien has enjoyed
multiple chart-topping songs covered by the likes of Nickel Creek, Dixie Chicks, and Garth Brooks, and collaborations with artists such as Darrell Scott, Steve Earle, Steve Martin, and more recently Jerry Douglas’ the Earls of Leicester. For Where the River Meets the
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