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Rating: 
Summary: musical companion to Horace Kephart's Our Southern Highlande
Review: by: Murphy Henry for Bluegrass Unlimited
First, the cast of players: Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Scott
Huffman, Craig Smith, Rickie Simpkins, Jack Lawrence, and
Tony Williamson. These guys are the heart of this CD. But
Daniel Gore, who composed all but two of the songs, is the
soul of this most unusual recording even though he plays
mandolin on just three numbers. "Ways That Are Dark" is
described as a "musical companion to Horace Kephart's Our
Southern Highlanders, a book first published in 1913. Kephart
wrote stories about the mountain folk who lived in the North
Carolina highlands, using the words and expressions of the
people themselves. When Daniel Gore read the book, "every
story sounded like a song." So, he set out composing words
and music to some of the stories. Like Kephart, Gore speckles
his songs with unusual mountain words and phrases, for
which he thoughtfully provides definitions. The surprise is
that Gore was able to transform these songs into a successful
bluegrass CD. There are two reasons for this: the songs are
extremely well-crafted, and Gore chose some of the best
team players in the business to bring these songs to life. Compacting a story into a song is not an easy task. Making
the song fit the bluegrass style is even harder. Daniel Gore is
a master at both. As a songwriter, his use of a chorus is
brilliant (and bluegrassy). While the verses provide often
complicated details of the story, the chorus gives you the
story's essence and a musical resting place. However, if the
musicians had been less talented, these songs could have
withered on the vine. Craig Smith provides a tasteful tour de
force in how to play the melody of a song Scruggs style.
Peter Rowan is in his element singing "Ways That Are Dark"
and the "Killing of Hol Rose," which echo some of his own
fine story songs. Jim Watson and Scott Huffman, with their
down-home accents, are completely at ease with the North
Carolina dialect and never make old-time mountain words
such as "cheer" ("chair"), "hyar" ("here") and "spile" ("spoil")
sound forced or disrespectful. This unique CD is for you folks who appreciate the art of
storytelling in song and for all who like well-played bluegrass
music. I, for one, can't wait to read the book. (Elephant Rock
Records, P.O. Box 20041, Spokane, Wa. 99204) MH
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