The Grascals - Dance Til Your Stockings are Hot And Ravelin'

The Grascals - Dance Til Your Stockings are Hot And Ravelin'
2011, BluGrascal Records

The Grascals have been busy the past few years.  Awards, a new independent record label and non-stop touring haven't stopped the band from releasing two albums in short order.  The most recent, an EP entitled Dance Til Your Stockings Are Hot And Ravelin' (June 7, 2011), is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Andy Griffith Show.  With sponsorship from Mayberry's Finest, a food company, there is a certain hyper-commerciality to the disc encompassed in the inclusion of the corporate jingle for the food company on the CD.  Putting that aside, however, Dance Til Your Stockings Are Hot And Ravelin' features some of the finest bluegrass work of the year thus far.

Dance Til Your Stockings Are Hot And Ravelin' opens with "Dooley", the mid-tempo tale of a moonshiner with a talent for not getting caught.  The rendition offered here is tight and well-played, with distinctive vocal harmonies.  "Boil Them Cabbage Down" features some of the best picking of 2011.  "Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)" is a bluegrass party tune, and The Grascals capture that spirit here perfectly.  The harmonies, once again, are exquisite, and the instrumentation is top notch.  The band shows off their instrumental prowess to full effect on "Ol' Joe Clark".  You'll find it impossible to sit still through this number as The Grascals play through like a finely tuned machine. 

"Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" is an old southern style hymn, incorporating bluegrass instrumentation and a touch of high lonesome sound in the vocals.  The Grascals deliver this tune with an inspired grace.  "Mayberry's Finest Theme", based on the original Andy Griffith Show theme, is the jingle for the food company of the same name.  It's a cute number that speaks more to the show than your typical jingle, but fits in with the company's theme.  "Boy, Giraffes Are Selfish", played to the same tune, is an original Grascals tune written on a request based on a line from one of the more famous episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.  It's an entertaining number, brief, but featuring some instrumental variations from "The Mayberry's Finest Theme" that keep it interesting.

The Grascals continue to find ways to increase their listenership with unusual business partnerships and their down-home brand of fiery bluegrass music.  Some may decry the corporate influences on what is an essentially Indie recording, but it's hard to argue with the music on Dance Til Your Stockings Are Hot And Ravelin'.  It's seemed like The Grascals have been working to find their footing on their last couple of efforts; consider it found.  This time out the Grascals are so tight you couldn't pry them apart.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Grascals at www.grascals.com or www.myspace.com/thegrascals.  Dance Til Your Stockings are Hot And Ravelin' drops on June 7, 2011.  You can pre-order the album from Amazon.com as a CD, or you can purchase the Download, which is already available.  The EP is also available via iTunes.

The Grascals – The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin

The Grascals – The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin
2011, BluGrascal Records/The Cracker Barrel

The Grascals had quite the year in 2010, releasing the wildly successful The Famous Lefty Flynn’s and earning 10 SPBGMA Award nominations.  This after winning Bluegrass Band Of The Year in February of 2010.  Rather than sit back and celebrate, The Grascals charge forth into 2011 with a dynamic new album entitled The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin.  Available only through Cracker Barrel Restaurants, The Grascals & Friends unites the band with some great musical names such as Dolly Parton, Dierks Bentley, Tom T. Hall, Charlie Daniels, Brad Paisley and Hank Williams, Jr. 

The Grascals & Friends opens with a great cover of “Tiger By The Tail”, featuring Brad Paisley.  Offered with strong energy and superb musicianship, this is the perfect opener.  Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” is up next, featuring Dierks Bentley.  The song is well performed and attempts to capture Cash’s mystique.  In this the song is not entirely successful, but on its own it’s a fine listen.  Dolly Parton sits in on “The Pain Of Lovin’ You” and “I Am Strong”.  “The Pain Of Loving You” is overly reserved but solidly performed.  “I Am Strong” isn’t convincing, but musically is all a Grascals fan would expect.  “Louisiana Saturday Night” has a down home feel and celebrates the simple life.  The arrangement is full of gorgeous harmonies and has an entrancing quality that will grab you.

“The Year That Clayton Delaney Died” features legend Tom T. Hall and is a solid old school story song.  “White Lightning” sounds a bit like Chuck Berry done bluegrass style.  The song features Darryl Worley and the amazing fiddle work of Jeremy Abshire. The inimitable Charlie Daniels sits in on “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”.  The song loses a bit of fire in the translation, but is solid all around.  “Mr. Bojangles” is performed with an air of quiet reverence.  Joe Nichols sits in amidst a sweet arrangement focused on bringing out the simple beauty of the melody.  Hank Williams Jr. stops by for “Born To Boogie/All My Rowdy Friends” in perhaps the highest energy outing on the album.  The arrangement offered here steps back from the almost rock n roll feel of the original, but loses nothing in the translation.  “Cracker Barrel Swing” shows off The Gracals’ instrumental chops in a relaxed, laid-back setting while throwing a nod to the album’s sponsor/distributor.  Grascals And Friends closes with a bonus track of “I Am Strong” that fails to make up ground on the previously offered version.

Grascals And Friends mostly delivers on the promise of the dynamic pairings it offers.  The Grascals are uncanny in their ability to craft arrangements that sometimes seem more natural than the original song versions.  It seems likely that the run of awards will continue for The Grascals.  And if the food from The Cracker Barrel isn’t reason enough for you to stop by, Grascals And Friends certainly is.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Grascals at http://www.grascals.com/ or www.myspace.com/thegrascals.  The Grascals & Friends drops on January 10, 2011, and will be available through Cracker Barrel restaurants.  A portion of the proceeds from The Grascals & Friends will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospitals.