Hey ya'll, This is our first major CD review that came out in the July issue of Bluegrass Now. It was written by Don Kissil, former editor of "Pickin" magazine. We're kinda proud of it (if you couldn't tell). So for a little shameless self promotion...here it is: ******************************************************************************************************* Bluegrass Now Magazine, July issue, 2007 reposted with permission
Delta Reign "Down on the Delta"
by Don Kissil Circumstances being as they were, for a few days I found myself in Mobile, Alabama and that's very far from my home in New Jersey. Down there is where raw oysters, which I love, cost only 25 cents a piece, (they call 'em nude oysters there) while up in NJ, they go for more than 10 times that price.
There, I meet this classical fiddler, Tom Morley, and he says..."If you like bluegrass, you need to hear these friends of mine. I'll send you their CD. It's self produced, and it's good."
So like that famous mandolin player often says "I told you that, to tell you this" ... in between my dreams of nude oysters, here's my review.
Delta Reign consists of only three people. Benita Murphy is on upright bass and lead vocals, her husband, Pat Murphy sings, plays banjo and sometimes fiddle, and Norman Jeter plays guitar and harmonizes too. Their Gulf Coast music fuses traditional bluegrass with Western Swing and features lots of jazzy guitar licks that really stand out. Benita's singing is strong, resonant, deep, clear and ...to my ear, a perfect female bluegrass voice.
She does some nice and different arranging of some traditional tunes like "Darlin' Cory" and "Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan'." Pat wrote a "feel-good" song that reflects his upbringing called "Down on the Delta."
Most notably, instead of crowding their first CD with originals like first albums often do, they include lots of country covers, ("Folsom Prison Blues," "There'll be no Teardrops Tonight" and "I Can't Get you Off My Mind."), some folk, ("Southbound" and "Wayfarin' Stranger,") and even the bluegrass classic, "Train 45." All of this they do in their patented "Delta-Grass" sound.
Norm Jeter provided some outstanding, innovative licks on the guitar. Although they lasted only about one verse and a chorus, they seemed to last much longer---kind of like a jazz player's break.
This is a good first CD and I hope to hear more from Delta Reign.
DK ~ Bluegrass Now Magazine, July issue, 2007 reposted with permission
