Ralph Stanley, Shine On - 40m 13s

Tracks & Durations

1. King of All Kings	2:29
2. The Roses Will Bloom	2:43
3. The Old Church Yard	2:55
4. This Little Light of Mine	2:49
5. My Man Trial Is Yet To Come	2:56
6. Sing Songs About Jesus	2:21
7. Palms of Victory	2:41
8. On A High, High Mountain	2:23
9. The Lowest Valley	3:02
10. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot	2:19
11. I'll Fly Away	2:26
12. Shine On	2:52
13. Why Should We Start and Fear to Die	5:25
14. Let Your Light Shine Out	2:42

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Review

Spiritual songs have long provided the musical bedrock for bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley, from the heavenly strains of the Stanley Brothers' "Angel Band" through the a cappella chill of "O Death." This collection of sacred material shows the expressive range and soulful depth of Stanley's keening tenor, with his Clinch Mountain Boys providing gospel harmonies and spare instrumental backing. Some of the highlights are all voice--Stanley's stately solo rendition of the traditional "The Old Church Yard," the four-part harmonies of "Sing Songs About Jesus"--while "On a High, High Mountain" features Stanley backed only by the fiddle and vocal harmony of John Rigsby. Producer Ralph Stanley II takes the lead vocal on "My Main Trial Is Yet to Come," a convict's lament as he faces the electric chair. The elder Stanley's unvarnished vocals strip familiar fare such as "This Little Light of Mine," "I'll Fly Away," and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" to their spiritual essence, with a tune from Dolly Parton giving the album a more contemporary title track. --Don McLeeseShine On is classic Stanley. At the age of 78, the multiple Grammy winner and Grand Ole Opry star continues to create soul-inspiring recordings that transcend format. The incredible singing that has been the hallmark of his sound is front and center here. In recent years, Stanley has taken an increasing share of the lead vocals on his recordings. In this collection, he sings lead on 12 of the 14 tracks. His band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, adds immeasurable brightness and energy to the album.

Stanley has always been drawn to the joy and hope of sacred music. Some of the very first recordings that he made with his brother Carter, back in 1947, were songs they had gleaned from old hymnbooks. In 1971, he became the first bluegrass performer to record gospel songs a cappella. This stark, unadorned style was customary in the Primitive Baptist church he attended as a boy. He also incorporated into his concerts and recordings the old church practice of "lining out" songs—in which a leader says a line of the lyrics and then the congregation sings it until the song is completed.

Shine On is more than the title of Ralph Stanley's sparkling new album. It's his credo as well. You can hear it in the fusion of high spirits and ancient wisdom he brings to his singing. There is no other voice like it in the world. The songs he illuminates in Shine On embrace both the old and the recent, the somber and the sprightly. It is the aural equivalent of a sturdy Appalachian quilt.

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