I love bluegrass music, but my knowledge of the genre’s movers and shakers today isn’t up to snuff. My grasp of the style rests with its pioneering legends such as The Stanley Brothers, Roscoe Holcomb, Doc Watson, and Bill Monroe. Meeting the acquaintance of Jason Barie, even under the guise of The Ramblin’ Fiddler, is a revelatory experience for me. It’s a much needed reminder that the genre isn’t confined to the past but, instead, has moved forward carried on the backs of talented musicians and visionaries who continue to see possibilities in this time-honored American music. Barie’s new album Radioactive, his second as The Ramblin’ Fiddler, is a shining example of the irrepressible life left in bluegrass music.
URL: https://jasonbarie.com/music/
The life is apparent from the outset. “Calaveras County” is a romping instrumental crackling with verve and alive with melody. Barie’s fiddle playing is the star of the show for me, careening with absolute control through the song’s changes and practically compelling you to give yourself over to the moment. “Keep a Memory”, the album’s third song, is the first of Barie’s two Stanley Brothers cover tunes and it’s a faithful rendering of the legendary tandem’s artistry without ever slavishly imitating the original. Barie’s fiddle is the heart of the song, once again, but the vocals are superb enough to keep you coming back to this track for more.
“Darling Brown Eyes” is the second Stanley Brothers revisit. Barie and the other musicians are clearly well versed with songs such as this, they practically form the backbone of the genre, but their approach is never clinical. “Darling Brown Eyes”, instead, that they feel, and it gets under the skin with every bit of the emotional impact of its original recording. The soothing and all-enveloping production gives these songs added weight without ever unnecessarily dressing them up for listeners. There’s no need. I hear everything I need from Barie’s treatment of such songs.
“In the Garden” wowed me. I’m familiar with the Elvis Presley version of this song and I did wish he’d opted to include a vocalist for the track – at first. I understood soon after the song began, however, why he chose to make it an instrumental. The song’s melodic virtues are such that the words are almost extraneous. Barie is obviously inspired, and I finished hearing the track for the first time feeling the same way.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/zm/album/radioactive/1668059519
“I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name” is as solid as it gets. The song began its life as a country classic, but Barie re-envisioning it as a pure bluegrass track doesn’t mean the cut loses anything in the translation. Harmony vocals are a stunning part of Radioactive’s success, and they arguably reach their peak with this performance. There’s so much to love about this album. You won’t find a single track on Jason Barie’s latest that qualifies as filler. He treats each song as if it is the centerpiece of the album and it possesses an unified sense of purpose that won’t be exhausted with repeated listens.
Heather Savage