CD Reviews- The Grascals- The Famous Lefty Flynn's

The Background:
The Famous Lefty Flynn's is the fourth album by one of America's most respected and celebrated bluegrass bands, The Grascals. The stirring vocals of the band's three lead singers, Terry Eldredge, Jamie Johnson, and Terry Smith, combined with the group's instrumental virtuosity, and unique song selection all play a part in the musical and critical heights the group has attained. Coming on the heels of their last album, SPBGMA's 2009 Album of the Year Keep On Walkin', the new album features a range of songs from a cover of the Monkees' lively "Last Train to Clarksville" to the imploring "Give Me Jesus," with stops along the way for intriguing story songs and some outstanding originals. Newest member Kristin Scott Benson, IBMA's 2008 Banjo Player of the Year, joins the band for what the band believes is their best album yet.

The Review:
Superb musicianship, two great covers and two story songs make up the highlights of this strong bluegrass album from one of the genre’s shining stars. The band first landed onto the bluegrass music scene in 2005—winning the International Bluegrass Music Association’s emerging artist award that year. The followed that up with two straight entertainer of the year nods. The two covers include a fun, interesting and animated cover of The Monkees’ 1966 hit “Last Train to Clarksville” as well as the Steve Earle cover, “My Old Friend the Blues.” That latter of those two reaches down emotively to the depressive depths that Earle was in when he originally wrote the song. But the highlights for this reviewer lie with the two story songs that split the album. On the first, “Satan and Grandma”, the Grascals sing of how Grandma, using her bible as a “sword and shield” single-handedly fought off Satan throughout her life. It’s a touching tribute to family blood and it’s good karma to put the evil dude in his place once in awhile musically. On the title track, “The Famous Lefty Flynn’s”, they’ve created a song that sounds like it was written by Marty Robbins in the 50’s about a jailed criminal who plans an escape and makes a run for the Mexican town of Tampico with the million dollars that the Famous Lefty Flynn stole over the course of his life. It’s a terrific tale backed by truly impressive instrumentation and will easily make the list of top songs of the year. Overall, this makes a fantastic bluegrass effort. If you’re a bluegrass lover, it’s a must for your collection. If you’re new to bluegrass, this would be a great place to start.

Track Highlights:
Last Train to Clarksville
The Famous Lefty Flynn’s
Satan and Grandma
My Old Friend the Blues

Sounds Like:
The Infamous Stringdusters & Ricky Skaggs

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five