The sun was in my eyes. Or maybe more appropriately, the banjo was in my ear. Like many people I’m sure, my first exposure to North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers was the first record they did with Steve Martin. It established them in my mind as a bluegrass band, and then they proceeded to build on that, earning a Grammy in the genre. Somewhere along the way, they started expanding their repertoire to include country, folk, and other roots music. I even noted this in a review I did 5 years ago. Yet I was still thinking bluegrass. Then I listened to their new record, Morning Shift, and FLASH! went the light in my head. They’re a lot more than bluegrass these days.
Nowhere is that more apparent than on Harvest Queen, a southern rock ballad about a couple who’s lived through the tough times, but kept their love and hope alive. Alabama Calling is a country rock number featuring dobro in a tale of a woman who won’t acknowledge the past that shaped her. Birds of Ohio and its vocals will remind you of 70’s California harmonies and elevation of nature before slipping into a spoken word delivery. The title track is probably best described as modern country, and is one of several tracks featuring producer Darrell Scott on guitar.
Regardless of that wider embrace of styles, the band still has its roots in the various parts of the Carolinas. Above My Burdens is a bluegrass hymnal, as at home on Sunday morning in the pews as Saturday evening on the porch. Old Stone House/Handlebars/Chimney Rock is an instrumental medley that starts as a slow, Celtic-tinged waltz and finishes in a take-your-breathe-away tempo. Deep End is a traditional bluegrass tune describing the experience of joining the band from the perspective of its newest member, guitarist/singer/songwriter Aaron Burdett.
I was a little concerned when SCR guitarist and co-founder Woody Platt left the band last summer. They’d been together a long time and change seemed inevitable. But like the high-tech metaphor, it seems Steep Canyon Rangers have successfully changed a tire on a moving car, and given the engine a tune-up at the same time. They’re new and improved; Morning Shift is the proof.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.