Search - Ronnie Bowman :: It's Gettin' Better All The Time

Ronnie sings like a country boy at heart

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 10/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 44:52 -- I just finished listening to Curly Seckler's "That Old Book of Mine," and now Ronnie Bowman's new project is spinning. Boy, has bluegrass evolved within just the course of a few decades. There's the rustic mountain side, but there's also an urbane and more refined contemporary side. Both types have their own elegance and sophistication. Ronnie Bowman sings like a country boy at heart, and he actually does hail from North Carolina and Virginia. Music's been an enormous part of his life ever since he first started singing with his parents and four sisters in "The Bowman Gospel Singers." He became a professional bluegrass musician when he joined The Lost and Found in 1987. By 1990, he was the lead singer with The Lonesome River Band. His first solo album in 1994 climbed to #1 on the BU Top 30 chart. The 1995, 1998 and 1999 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year is also a fantastic songwriter. You may recall award-winners like "Cold Virginia Rain," "The Healing Kind," and "Three Rusty Nails." Country musicians Dan Seals, Brooks and Dunn, and others have recorded his songs.



Just like Curly Seckler's tenor was many years ago, Ronnie Bowman's bluegrass voice is a defining one of our time today. Combined with stellar instrumental support and an enchanting repertoire of fresh material, Ronnie hits a homerun right out of the park. His musical companions include Wyatt Rice (guitar), Dan Tyminski or Adam Steffey (mandolin), Andy Hall (dobro), Steve Thomas (fiddle), Dave Talbot (banjo), Dave Pomeroy (bass). "The Epitaph of Lester Moore" has the assistance of Del, Ronnie and Rob McCoury. "It's Getting' Better All the Time" is leanly arranged with just Ronnie singing with John Jarvis' piano and strings. With a little more acoustic country emphasis, we really only hear banjo on three songs ("Crazy Train" and "The Epitaph of Lester Moore" and "Walkin' the Dog"). The latter features the banjo-picking of Don Wayne Reno, fiddle bowing of Jeremy Garrett, and Mike Anglin's vocal. I wish that a couple numbers (e.g. "Perfect Love") might've also included some five-string, but thank you Ronnie, for not incorporating drums or percussion into your music. In most arrangements, Ronnie sings both lead and tenor vocals. High baritone harmonies are beautifully rendered by Garnet Imes-Bowman.



Eight of the eleven songs were penned or co-penned by Bowman. In his songs, he exhibits a natural inclination to set the stage, pull you into the stories, and impart evocative messages. His melodies and attention-grabbing lyrics flow smoothly. The lines all sound so correctly assembled. With this amount of original material, I wish that the CD jacket would have included lyrics. Many of us benefit from being able to use both our auditory and visual senses when contemplating such beautiful lyrics as Bowman's. Covers come from Hugh Moffatt ("Old Flames"), Larry Rice ("Four Wheel Drive") and E.M and W.C. Grimsley ("Walkin' the Dog"). With both country and bluegrass overtones, it's clearly "getting' better all the time" for vocalist Ronnie Bowman. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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A wonderful release

LDG in Montgomery | Montgomery, AL United States | 08/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ronnie Bowman definitely should have skipped the leather pants on the cover, but the music is KILLER!!! The production is very tight, and the harmonies are great. This CD stays in frequent rotation on my stereo system and in iTunes playlists. There really isn't a weak song among the eleven. Four Wheel Drive & Till We Meet Again are particularly good. This borders closer to bluegrass than Americana which makes sense with him having been lead vocalist for a while with the Lonesome River Band."