Rhonda Vincent: Good Thing Going
Rounder H662-0592-2
Format: CD

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Rhonda Vincent grew up in a family band, has been a performer since she was five, and, for seven years in a row, has won the International Bluegrass Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year award. Her pipes are richly recorded on Good Thing Going, which she coproduced with her brother Darrin Vincent, a member of the bluegrass duet Dailey & Vincent. Indisputably a bluegrass album, it’s got a touch of Texas swing as well as the folk classic "The Water is Wide," which includes a poignant duet appearance by Keith Urban. And Vincent has corralled some fine, experienced musicians to complete the project: Hunter Berry on fiddle; Mickey Harris, Kevin Grant, and Darrin Vincent on bass; Kenny Ingram on banjo; Josh Williams on guitar and mandolin; guitarist Brian Sutton; and others, some of whom contribute harmony vocals. The five songs Vincent wrote or cowrote hold their own or better. One hopes that she will parlay her roots, stature, talent, and freedom into addressing important matters beyond the personal -- and that other bluegrass artists will follow -- but Good Thing Going is definitely the state of the bluegrass art….David Cantor

Various: It All Started with Doo Wop
Time Life 21856-6
Format: 9 CDs, 1 DVD

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With its emotional nakedness and naïveté, doo-wop embodied many of the best qualities of early rock’n’roll. Doo-wop was tremendously multi-ethnic -- African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Italians, and other nationalities each brought a bit of their own culture to the music -- and all it required was four or five voices that could blend together in harmony on a street corner. It All Started with Doo Wop brings together on nine CDs 146 tracks, most of them doo-wop or influenced by doo-wop. There’s some repetition between this set and Rhino Records’ Doo Wop Box (1994), but Time Life has included a few obscurities, such as the Five Keys’ "Ling Tin Tong" and the Majors’ "Tra La La," that the other set missed. It All Started with Doo Wop occasionally stretches the definition of the genre, as in the decision to include the Supremes and the Marvelettes, but it’s hard to argue that the Chiffons, or even Jay and the Americans, shouldn’t be here. The remastering is very good, especially considering the variety and quality of many of the sources. The set also includes a DVD of a PBS special, Doo Wop Legends Live, taped in 1999….Joseph Taylor

The Northside Southpaws: Stomp-Glide-Wobble
Ruthless Rabbit RRR1967
Format: CD

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Mandolinist John Hasbrouck and guitarist Matt Gandurski play left-handed versions of their resonator instruments, which were created in the 1920s by National and Dobro. These instruments get their unique tones through the use of metal cones to project the sound, in contrast to the traditional wooden soundboard. Hasbrouck and Gandurski play in the older styles -- bluegrass, ragtime, blues -- for which these instruments were designed. They wear their mastery of this American music with ease, and don’t dazzle the listener with pyrotechnic displays. Instead, they play "Jackson Stomp," "Blackberry Rag," and "Vicksburg Stomp" in the manner of the Mississippi Mud Steppers and the Three Stripped Gears, string bands of more than 70 years ago. The result is enjoyable and relaxed, and lets the music’s magic speak for itself. Only after a few listens do the subtle interplay and virtuosity of the musicians become apparent. The recording has an immediate, living-room intimacy, and there are no overdubs. The disc ends with a contemporary song, Tom Waits’ "Johnsburg, Illinois," played with delicacy and deep feeling -- an honest close to a moving, beautiful disc….Joseph Taylor

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers: Humming My Way Back Home
JPR CD 008
Format: CD

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Though mixed in a professional recording studio, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers’ Humming My Way Back Home was recorded on a laptop computer. But it sounds good, and while it’s Rodgers’ first album, it’s hardly the work of a novice. Rodgers has long discussed music professionally -- he founded and edited Acoustic Guitar magazine, interviewed singer-songwriters, reports about the industry for NPR, has published three books about songwriting and guitars, and, since his teens, has written and performed songs. Humming’s 14 songs, all by Rodgers, are original, varied, and engaging. Rodgers’ singing and guitar playing are both up to speed, and he uses his well-honed songwriting skills to comment on many experiences. The title song is at once substantive and catchy; "My Life Doesn’t Rhyme," about writing songs, is interesting enough to avoid the pitfall of triteness; and "American Dream" goes beyond mere atmosphere in capturing the late-night ambiance of a highway truck stop. Check out this album at www.jeffreypepperrodgers.com....David Cantor

Otis Taylor: Recapturing the Banjo
Telarc Blues CD-83667
Format: CD

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On Recapturing the Banjo, Otis Taylor examines the roots and legacy of the instrument. Joined by guests Guy Davis, Keb’ Mo’, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Don Vappie, and Corey Harris, Taylor has recaptured the banjo indeed, with a firm grasp and a nonconformist approach that showcase the instrument’s compatibility with styles ranging from jazz to rock, from Southern blues to folk. This tribute to the historic instrument contains licks and elements of the expected bluegrass sound, but convincingly broadens its scope with mostly original songs that span styles and eras. A version of Billy Roberts’ "Hey Joe" (famously covered by Jimi Hendrix) -- in which the seemingly simple plucking of the banjo is paired with a rich electric guitar in a slow, forlorn blues drawl -- is surprisingly fresh. "Ten Million Slaves" recalls how the instrument, and ten million slaves, were transported from Africa to the Americas. Taylor’s low, throaty vocals are mellifluously matched with sweet harmonies from his wife, Cassie, and the sound is as crisp as the air of Colorado, where the album was recorded. Rightfully so -- few instruments can match the banjo’s unexpectedly beautiful crystalline ring….Shannon Holliday