Bibb City Ramblers

Mountain Air

GrooveNRecords

http://www.bibbcityramblers.com/

Sometimes it seems like the creation of a record or the evolution of a band is like making a roux – you take a few, seemingly simple ingredients and when they’re blended, stirred and simmered over time, they release a balance of flavors that become something special and unique.  And that’s where the Bibb City Ramblers find themselves with their newest release, Mountain Air.  The addition of Gini Woolfolk Davidson  on bass and vocals and Wildman Steve on washboard and vocals have given the mandolin of Brian Fowler and the vocals and guitar of “Dirty “Dan Davidson the room to realize the most complete Ramblers recording yet.

The title track opens up the disc, a high-flying ode to the Rockies and features the first of four appearances from Mosier Brothers fiddler David Blackmon. Throughout the twelve tracks, you hear a band defining itself while remaining difficult to pigeonhole. Dan’s bluesy picking and Brian’s blistering mandolin playing, along with Blackmon’s fiddle, rise from the rhythmic pad laid down by Steve and Gini and combine to create high energy Americana with tinges of newgrass on the instrumentals Red Mule Ride, the mandolin workout Slick Willie, Booze Mountain, and especially the barn-burning closer Whitetail Ridge, and old-school country on Are You Cheatin’ On Me and Hangover City. Gini’s tunes Katie McGee and the chilling 3 Bullets prove that the fightin’, killin’, cheatin’ and drinkin’ aren’t just left to the boys.

Trying to stake out a corner of the musical world is a difficult thing to do, but on Mountain Air, the love of a good story and an honest tune can be something the Bibb City Ramblers can call their own.

Curtis Lynch

Playgrounds Magazine

April 2012

Pick up your very own copy at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bibbcityramblers.