Engelhardt Music Group has released another single from big bad banjo man Russ Carson, he of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and the popular YouTube and Instagram profiles 81Crowe, where he is well known as both a banjo instructor and proponent of Gold Star banjos.
Even before his time with Skaggs, Russ made a name for himself as a strong and consistent banjo player, with a sterling stint with Audie Blaylock and Redline, and on a number of strong solo projects.
The new single, Look Me Up By The Ocean Door, comes from his current album, Songs That Birds Don’t Sing, and features Ron Block on lead vocal. Most any other artist would bring Ron in to pick the five, but as Russ has that well covered, he wanted to simply highlight Ron’s singing. Block does a fine job on this superb Cox Family number, written by Sidney and Suzanne Cox.
Carson says of the new album, his first in some time…
“This is an amazingly exciting collaboration of some of the genre’s top musicians and vocalists. Some of these guys I’ve been honored to play with for years; others are artists I’ve dreamed of working with. We’ve cut some traditionals, some originals, and some fantastic songs that have been forgotten for 20+ years. It’s taken five years for this project to become a reality, and the creative powerhouse that came together to make this happen, along with the intent to honor those we’ve lost along the way is what kept this dream alive.”
On Look Me Up By The Ocean Door, Russ has Jake Workman on guitar, Aaron Ramsey on mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, and Mike Bub on bass. Harmony vocals are provided by Tina Adair and Dennis Parker.
It’s mighty good. Have a listen.
Look Me Up By The Ocean Door, and the full Songs That Birds Don’t Sing album, are available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers can contact EMG via their web site.
