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Terry Baucom has been a busy man for the past four decades or so. He began playing banjo at age 10, but also picked up the fiddle as a youngster. His professional debut occurred as a teenager when he was thrust on stage with Charlie Moore. During that set for which he’d had no preparation, Terry impressed Charlie enough that he was hired as a permanent member of the band. He later moved on to Boone Creek with Ricky Skaggs, and was a founding member of Quicksilver as well as IIIyrd Time Out. So it is no wonder that it has taken Terry so long to finally release a “solo” CD. I use the term “solo” loosely because the musicians that accompany Terry on this release certainly make it an all-star compilation. Jamie Dailey, Doyle Lawson, Barry Bales, Adam Steffey, Lou Reid, Ronnie Bowman, the Gibson Brothers, Jason Carter, and Russell Moore are just a few of the bluegrass superstars who perform with “The Bauc.” In short, it was well worth the wait.
Ordinarily I recoil from phrases such as “one size fits all” or “there is something for everyone” because typically that often means that I will appreciate only a small part of whatever it is (CD, clothing, lunch buffet, etc.) and have no use for the rest. However, this is one instance where I will embrace such an all-inclusive description. Terry’s choice of tunes range from the very traditional bluegrass sound of the Jimmy Martin/Paul Williams song Stepping Stones (performed with Paul Williams and Cindy Baucom on vocals) and the Louvin Bros/Jim & Jesse track I Wish You Knew, to the new-grass feel of The Next Last Time with Ronnie Bowman and John Cowan. For those of you looking for that solid quartet sound so definitive to Quicksilver, Terry, Doyle Lawson, Jimmy Haley, and Lou Reid deliver with the gospel number My Eyes Shall Be on Canaan’s Land. And have no fear Scruggsphiles, you will get your fix of the driving Baucom banjo on the title-track instrumental In A Groove. In my opinion, this tune is destined to become a banjo classic. Adam Steffey’s speaker-rattling baritone vocals and haunting mandolin rivet the listener for the Eddie Adcock story ballad The Sentence. Paired with Cindy’s light alto, this tune makes one want to pull the car over and just listen. For those of you with a desire to taste a little country, The Gibson Brothers and Terry put their own spin on the Buck Owens tune Open Up Your Heart.
You don’t want to miss this one folks. It is as solid a collection of tracks as we have seen in bluegrass in several years. Terry demonstrates, not only through his musical skill, but through his drafting of a hall-of-fame class of contributing bluegrassers, that he is a true force to be reckoned with. I’m just hoping that he doesn’t make us wait another four decades for the next one!
You can purchase the CD through www.terrybaucom.com or through the usual bluegrass outlets.
Track titles:
Do You Wrong Kind of Girl (Jamie Daily, Lou Reid, & Terry Baucom)
Good Time Mountain Man (Chris Stapleton & Ronnie Bowman)
Nothin’ Like the Scorn of a Lover (Russell Moore, Buddy Melton, & Terry Baucom)
In A Grove (Instrumental)
Stepping Stones (Paul Willimas, Cindy Baucom, & Terry Baucom)
My Eyes Shall Be on Canaan’s Land (Original Quicksilver Quartet: Doyle Lawson, Jimmy Haley, Lou Reid, & Terry Baucom)
Open Up Your Heart (The Gibson Brothers)
Young Lillie’s Dreams (Don Rigsby, Buddy Melton, & Terry Baucom)
There Ain’t No future In The Past (Lou Reid, Jimmy Haley, & Terry Baucom)
I Wish You Knew (John Cowan & Russell Moore)
The Sentence (Adam Steffey, Cindy Baucom, & Terry Baucom)
The Next Last Time (Ronnie Bowman & John Cowan)
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