The Angels Are Singing: A Women's Bluegrass Gospel Collection

Performer: Various Artists
Producer: Ken Irwin (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Full title: The Angels Are Singing: A Women's Bluegrass Gospel Collection. Includes liner notes by Chris Skinker. Personnel: Hazel Dickens (vocals, tenor); Ginny Hawker (vocals, baritone); Kathy Kallick, Lynn Morris, Ola Belle Reed, Stoney Cooper, Suzanne Thomas, Wilma Lee Cooper (vocals, guitar); Rhonda Vincent (vocals, mandolin); Laurie Lewis (vocals, fiddle); Alison Krauss (vocals, viola); Claire Lynch, L.E. White, Lucy Kaplansky, Alice Gerrard, Phyllis Boyens, April Stevens, Suzanne Cox, Carolee Cooper (vocals); Ron Block (tenor, guitar); Evelyn Cox, Carol Elizabeth Jones (tenor); Dan Tyminski (baritone, guitar); Douglas Stevens, Willard Cox (baritone); Jeff White, Ray Deaton, Todd Phillips, Tony Marcus (bass voice); Darrell Scott, David Grier, Dudley Connell, John McGann, Pete Kennedy, Jerry Shook, Bryan Sutton, Charles Sawtelle (guitar); Barry Bales (acoustic guitar, acoustic bass); Jerry Douglas , Rob Ickes (dobro); Richard Underwood, Craig Robert Smith, Stella Sutton, Marc Pruett, Alison Brown, Tony Trischka, Butch Robins (banjo); Andy Statman (mandolin, clarinet); David McLaughlin, Bill Carver, Adam Steffey, Ron Thomason, Sam Bush, Tim O'Brien, Tom Rozum, Barry Mitterhoff, Wayne Benson (mandolin); Matt Glaser (violin, viola); Eddie Stubbs, Glen Duncan, Ray Legere, Ron Stewart (fiddle); Bruce Barth (piano); Ronnie Simpkins (acoustic bass). Liner Note Author: Chris Skinker. Photographer: Rick Olivier. Arrangers: Hazel Dickens; Alice Gerrard; Matt Glaser; Ola Belle Reed. One of the primary distinguishing features of bluegrass music has always been the male voice -- the fierce and otherworldly falsetto of Bill Monroe was as important to the establishment of bluegrass as a musical genre as were his hard-driving mandolin and the fiery banjo picking of Earl Scruggs. But although women have traditionally been regarded as peripheral in the history of bluegrass music, there are many who have made significant contributions, and they have done so throughout the music's history. From the rough-hewn mountain laments of Hazel Dickens to the soulful smoothness of Alison Krauss, the distinctive sounds of women bluegrass singers have added a distinctive dimension to the music's development. This collection of bluegrass gospel songs features women singing in a wide variety of bluegrass styles: the Stevens Sisters contribute the dark and bluesy "In My Time of Dying," Claire Lynch gets funky on a modern gospel composition called "Paul and Peter Walked," and Ola Belle Reed delivers a chilling a cappella rendition of "Six Feet of Earth Makes Us All One Size." Rhonda Vincent and Kathy Kallick both perform driving and rootsy numbers, while the Cox Family's contribution is, as usual for them, both gorgeous and slightly strange. Strict traditionalists might be put off by a few of these selections (the clarinet intro on "The Wayfaring Stranger" is especially startling), but everything here is very much worth hearing. ~ Rick Anderson

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