TIM O'BRIEN BAND, "Tim O'Brien Band," Howdy Skies, 13 tracks
West Virginia native Tim O'Brien began his musical journey 41 years ago with the Colorado-based Hot Rize bluegrass band.
Through the years, he's journeyed down a lot of musical highways and backroads.
But with his latest album, "Tim O'Brien Band," set for release on March 15, O'Brien is back firmly in bluegrass _ with a little folk and old-time music on the side.
Band members include Mike Bub (bass), Shad Cobb (fiddle), Jan Fabricius (vocals/mandolin) and Patrick Sauber (banjo/guitar).
Bryan Sutton, O'Brien's Hot Rize bandmate, adds his guitar to two songs on the album.
O'Brien wrote "The Other Woman" with Fabricius, his partner, who sings lead on the track.
He wrote "Beyond," a song about what's beyond this life, with Shawn Camp and "Amazing Love" with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.
And O'Brien wrote "Crooked Road," on his own as well as "La Gringa Renee," an instrumental ode to Fabricius, whose middle name is Renee.
Other songs include Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty," a song about the travails of migrant workers; "Diggin' My Potatoes," once a blues number by Big Bill Broonzy; J. D. Hutchison's "Drunkard's Walk"; Norman Blake's "Last Train From Poor Valley"; Dirk Powell's "My Love Lies In the Ground"; Hal Cannon's "Wind"; the cowboy ballad "Doney Gal"; and "Hop Down Reel/Johnny Doherty's Reel," from Irish fiddlers Kevin Burke and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh.
To preorder, go to timobrien.net.
