Search - Mountain Heart :: Journey

An album for fans to sing and shout about!

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 06/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mountain Heart formed in 1998 when Adam Steffey, Steve Gulley, Barry Abernathy, Jimmy Van Cleve and Johnny Dowdle got together. When Steffey left, Alan Perdue took over mandolin duties. What experience and credentials these rising stars have! Guitarist Steve Gulley worked for 15 years at Renfro Valley (a Kentucky music park), and he appears on three albums with Doyle Lawson. Banjo-player Barry Abernathy has picked with Silver Creek, III Tyme Out, and Doyle Lawson. Fiddler Jimmy Van Cleve has played with Rambler's Choice, Doyle Lawson, Ric-O-Chet, and Lou Reid and Carolina.In 1999, Mountain Heart released their first album and won the IBMA award for "Emerging Artist of the Year." Jason Moore is the band's bass player. This album's title represents the band's strong devotion and relationship with God. Their splendid presentation indicates a strong commitment to both their music and their ministry. Their excellent material is derived from various sources, and includes some original compositions such as thoughtful "The Scar in His Hands" and bluesy "John." The latter includes guest artists Jim Hurst (guitar), Missy Raines (bass), and Rob Ickes (dobro) with Gulley and Abernathy. The album's leadoff cut, "Wings of Love," is a bouncy, banjo-driven, call-and-response number about being carried away to mansions bright by the shining throne. A special treat on this album is Mountain Heart's a cappella rendition of "The Gospel Train," which is clear demonstration of the band's wonderous vocal delivery and proficiency. Another a cappella offering, "Travelin Shoes," is also grand. The band is equally comfortable with taking contemporary Christian music and adapting it to their format, with pieces like the album's nearly 9-minute reflective closer, "Not Long For This Earth," which also guests Jeff Taylor (piano) and Robbie Link (bass, cello). This kind of slow, prolonged number, however, just doesn't do a lot for me, and perhaps the arrangement could have been shortened. The banjo is put into a modal tuning to give an old-timey sound to "The Hill Lone and Gray." Carl Jackson's "There's a Higher Power" and James Cooke's "What a Time in Heaven" have great gospel bluegrass feelings to them. This is a very professionally presented stellar package of the best in bluegrass gospel music today. "The Journey," Mountain Heart's second album ever produced as a band, certainly was deserving of the IBMA award for Gospel Recording of the Year in 2002. The repertoire, arrangements, picking, and singing are something for fans to sing and shout about! (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)"

Awesome CD

SouthernBookConnoisseur | 10/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is Awesome. It has great music and keeps your toes tapping."

Whew!

D. Blaine Jenkins | Brunswick, Georgia United States | 02/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It just doesn't get any better than this! The harmonies are perfect, the instruments are true, the songs are magnificent! If you could only buy one Gospel Bluegrass CD in the entire world, then this is the one! It reminds me of when I was a little boy at my Grandma's, waiting for breakfast to get done, while she played gospel bluegrass on her radio as loud as it would play. I think it will take you to pleasant memories, or make'em for you."