Grassoline

Album Review

Bluegrass guitarist Mo Canada did not hurry in preparing a follow-up to his debut album Stoney Lonesome; Grassoline appears a full decade later. Canada took the time to write a clutch of original bluegrass tunes, taking a composing credit on nine of the 12 tracks here. He also assembled a strong ensemble to play those pieces. In addition to Canada's guitar, the main band features Chad Light on banjo, Randy Kohrs on Dobro, Rickie Simpkins on fiddle, Darrell Webb on mandolin, and Kevin Light on bass. This is the group that plays on the first ten tracks, with some substitutions. Light is spelled for three tracks by Scott Vestal, with Ed Canada (Mo Canada's father) replacing him on one and JP Mathes on another. George Atkins and Tara Inoue stand in for Webb on a track each; Phil Leadbetter gets one turn at Dobro in place of Kohrs; and Randy McLain takes over on fiddle for one track. No matter who makes up the group, however, the approach is the same. Each tune serves as a picking platform for each of the musicians (with the exception of Light) to take a turn soloing over the changes Canada has come up with. He seems concerned less with speed than with melody and fluid playing, and his fellow musicians join in that spirit. After the ensemble numbers, the disc concludes with "Old Grey Coat," on which Canada duets with his mentor, Tony Rice, for some tasty guitar interaction, and the traditional song "Lonesome Ruben," a solo showcase for Canada. While the leader's ability has never been in doubt from the first note, this piece finally puts the spotlight completely on him, to excellent effect .