By Isaiah Smith/reporter
Cadillac Sky’s new album Blind Man Walking is a promising horizon for the modern bluegrass genre.
Banjo virtuoso Matt Menefee, crowned a Winfield champion at the age of 17, provides an up-tempo backing to this down-home CD.
Ricky Skaggs, acclaimed country artist, was so impressed he signed the band in 2006 to Skaggs Family Records.
“When I heard Cadillac Sky for the first time, I heard some of the freshest new bluegrass I had heard in a long time,” he said in a press release. “They write all their songs. Their vocals just killed me, and they had a new sound.”
Bryan Simpson, songwriter and lead singer/mandolin player for Cadillac Sky, has written songs for artists such as George Strait, Martina McBride and Gretchen Wilson.
Rounding out the band are Mike Jump, guitar player and supporting vocalist; Ross Holmes, fiddle player and supporting vocalist, and Andy Moritz, bass player and supporting vocalist.
“ Sinners Wel-come,” a high-energy, gospel-inspired track, would make a great single because it has the most infectious banjo playing in it. This song is one of the finest bluegrass songs I have ever heard.
“ Homesick Angel” is a beautiful slow track with an almost Irish feel to it. Lyrically, it is a bit depressing, yet the vocals and music are so undeniably beautiful, this song will rock the country charts.
“ Homesick Angel” has so much emotion, the listener will understand it on a deep level.
Cadillac Sky has already connected with its audience because it has been an established live band for years, performing at the 2004 and 2006 IBMA World of Bluegrass Trade Show.
The band was selected out of more than 200 applicants for one of the 12 slots. Cadillac Sky does fun well. The band shines when it takes the music up a notch and raises the energy a bit.
“ Wish I Could Say I Was Drinking” is a tongue-in-cheek song about a man lamenting breaking up with an ex and sorry he couldn’t claim he had been drunk when he made the decision.
This high-energy song has a fun attitude that highlights the string playing quite well.
The strings carry the tune well on “Redbird” as well, a slower song that has a steady rhythm that reminds me of nature.
Even though it goes on a long time, it is worth every second; this is a great album song.
“ Blind Man Walking,” the title track, takes an honest look at faith in America.
At least, I think that is what this song is about since the lyrics are full of allusion.
The wordplay here is just amazing; Simpson is a real master of lyrics.
Still, “Neighborhood Bully’s Long Look in the Mirror” is an entirely instrumental track that jams from start to finish. Even without lyrics, this song holds attention with such fine picking there is no doubt this band has two of the finest pickers in America.
The slow western sounding track “Mountain Man” is the quintessential song about that burly, man’s-man kind of guy. The fiddling on this song is awesome, and the lyrics form a great mental image of the forest.
Sounding almost like a poem set to music because it has such depth and a twist ending, “Insomniac Blues for Matthew” provides awesome bluegrass.
As a whole, this album is fresh and modern bringing the bluegrass genre into 2007. I give Blind Man Walking five stars. These guys are destined for bluegrass greatness.
