Brand New Strings

1	Sally Jo / Kentucky Thunder 4:27
2	Sis Draper / Kentucky Thunder 3:44
3	I Corinthians 1:18 / Kentucky Thunder Instrumental 3:48
4	Enjoy the Ride / Kentucky Thunder 3:26
5	Lonesome and Dry as a Bone / Kentucky Thunder 3:16
6	Brand New Strings / Kentucky Thunder 3:47
7	Spread a Little Love Around / Kentucky Thunder 2:34
8	Appalachian Joy / Kentucky Thunder Instrumental 3:23
9	If I Had It All Again to Do / Kentucky Thunder 3:21
10	Love Does It Every Time / Kentucky Thunder 3:34
11	Why Did I Wait So Long? / Kentucky Thunder 3:08
12	My Father's Son / Kentucky Thunder 2:59
13	Monroe Dancin / Kentucky Thunder Instrumental 3:09

Barnes & Noble

Apropos of the title, bluegrass stalwart Ricky Skaggs joins fresh ideas with a reverence for tradition and his abiding spirituality on Brand New Strings, one of his deepest, most exciting albums. The title song is a case in point: A classic-styled barn burner, it tells the story of a blues picker transformed by love, a makeover reflected in his ebullient playing. Rebecca Lynn Howard joins Skaggs on record for the first time, adding some jubilant harmonies, and electricity makes a dramatic entrance with guitarist Johnny Hyland's fleet-fingered, white-hot solo near the end. Similarly, Skaggs draws on shimmering electric guitar chords to spice up the acoustic arrangement on "If I Had It All Again to Do," a thoughtful reflection on family and the ties that bind. Skaggs' philosophy and faith have rarely been more effectively expressed than in the lilting, harmony-rich "Love Does It Every Time," an account of miracles born of faith, its message heightened by church bells, gut-string guitar, and affecting harmonies by Skaggs and his wife, Sharon White. The same is true for "My Father's Son," a moving, rhythmically rich confessional pointing out that "the highest laws are written / on the hearts of honest men." But what would a Ricky Skaggs album be without Bill Monroe? Here Mr. Bill is represented by "Sally Jo," Doug and Rusty Kershaw's folktale of a faithless femme -- a song that Monroe immortalized -- and Skaggs' sprightly, self-penned instrumental "Monroe Dancin'." Designed to move the spirit and the body, Brand New Strings makes easy work of both. David McGee

All Music Guide

It should come as no surprise to fans of Ricky Skaggs that the level of musicianship within his band Kentucky Thunder is superb. Even at their worst, they skim the surface of maximum quality, but what is so exciting about Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder is their ability to balance on the frayed edges of classic and progressive bluegrass. Brand New Strings shows this off very well, forsaking neither, and is an excellent example of a group whose members are both technically fantastic and capable of emotionally exploiting their talents, a rare commodity in modern bluegrass. The first of Skaggs' four songwriting contributions, the instrumental "I Corinthians 1:18," is a perfect example of the more forward-thinking side of the group, while the title track is where the group completely cuts loose with ridiculously amazing picking and fiddling. Skaggs even broke the traditional bluegrass barrier by employing accordionist Tim Laure on "Love Does It Every Time," a nice melodic country-folk tune, if a little heavy-handed lyrically. Ultimately, Brand New Strings is an excellent outing for Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and shows the band pulling bluegrass another small step further from its shelter into adventure. Gregory McIntosh