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Waxed - Record Review from Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007

Cadillac Sky

Blind Man Walking (Skaggs Family)

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Cadillac Sky plays high-octane newgrass without sounding like a total New Grass Revival ripoff. That’s no mean feat. Much of their drive comes from banjo player Matt Menefee, who runs scales with little regard for Scruggs. Ross Holmes’ greasy fiddle invites you to turn up the volume, but not every song is full-throttle. Sonya Isaacs lends a gorgeous guest vocal to the Celtic strains of “Homesick Angel”, a bittersweet ballad about the loss of a child. “Never Been So Blue” is a respectful, waltz-time homage to Bill Monroe. Lead singer, mandolinist, and principal song¬writer Bryan Simpson writes a thoroughly contemporary lyric, referencing everything from DNA and Nyquil to Club Med, but the conflicting notions of sin and salvation are his primary touchstones. Folks drink too much, commit felonies, and get thrown in jail — more than once, actually. But hope remains. As “Sinners Welcome” professes, before dissolving into a Pentecostal shout-fest: “Sin is the cause; Christ is the cure.”

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Originally Featured in Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007

Cover of Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007

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