For Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice, 2012 was not just a banner year, but a vindication—and with the release of their fourth Rebel Records album, The Story Of The Day That I Died, it’s a safe bet that 2013 is going to be even better. Building on the strengths of its IBMA Album of the Year predecessor, The Story Of The Day That I Died serves up another dozen classics and classics-in-the-making that prove the honors bestowed on The Heart Of A Song and its opening track, “A Far Cry From Lester And Earl,” were no accidents. And though Junior and the guys have kept squarely in their winning groove, there are some new aspects to their music that promise to take the group even farther down the road to bluegrass immortality.
Taking pride of place in the news about the latest release is the addition of Chris Davis to the quintet. For fans of soulful singing in the mountain style, it’s a welcome step, for Davis has earned a reputation as one of the music’s most powerful tenors—and most dynamic onstage personalities—through his work with Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time and Marty Raybon. Indeed, from the moment he began making appearances with Ramblers Choice, Davis’s vocal contributions helped to bring an already outstanding vocal combination to a new level and, like his young but veteran colleague in the band, Jason Tomlin, he takes on all three vocal roles here—lead, tenor and baritone. Add his assertive mandolin playing into the mix, and it’s plain just how much Chris brings to the Ramblers Choice sound.
In a similar vein, Jason Davis has become a banjo player to watch, earning a growing reputation for his deepening mastery of every facet of the instrument’s classic sounds. Though he’s deservedly front and center on a blistering version of “Jesse James” and puts the hammer down on the album’s up-tempo numbers, he’s equally at home in the too-often neglected C tuning of more restrained numbers like the title track and “Prayers Go Up,” where he shows just how adeptly he can back a singer. Fiddler Billy Hawks, too, stands ready to tear it up when called upon to do so, but is equally at ease in playing a supporting role. Like their colleagues, they’re musicians who understand that bluegrass is fundamentally an ensemble music, and bring all their talent to bear on serving each song.
And what a strong set of songs appear on The Story Of The Day That I Died. A writer of no small ability himself—check out “Walking In Good Company,” written with Junior’s favorite co-writer, his dad—Sisk was clearly “in the zone” when it came time to choose material. Russell Johnson and Daniel Salyer, who contributed to The Heart Of A Song are back with distinctive new entries, as is Ashby Frank, whose sardonic “I Did The Leaving For You” on the Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice debut is matched, if not excelled by the title track here. Long-time buddy and former neighbor Ronnie Bowman, who produced that debut, returns with a thoughtful contemporary number that stretches the group in a different direction.
Yet there are new names among the songwriters, too; Kentucky traditionalist David Carroll, who’s written for IIIrd Tyme Out, Blue Moon Rising, the Lonesome River Band and more furnishes a lonesome waltz, while in a bold move that may surprise a few folks, Junior snatched up a modern piece of wisdom from Cadillac Sky’s Bryan Simpson before it disappeared into the studios of Music Row. And, on the other end of the spectrum, he revives an obscure Larry Sparks classic, and teams up with fellow traditionalist—and fellow Rebel artist—Joe Mullins for the inevitable Stanley Brothers number, “Lover’s Quarrel.”
Add it all up, and The Story Of The Day That I Died is quintessential Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice. There’s a little bit of just about everything to be found on this disc, but it’s mostly bluegrass done just the way it’s always been done the best—with a whole lot of talent and a whole lot of soul!
