BadaBing BadaBoom Volume II
Saucy swing band for those who didn't get to live through the first wave. With lovely Andrews Sisters-style vocals,
"Django Reinhardt meets the Judds," Badabing Badaboom certainly lives up to its name with a bubbly zinger of part
swing band, part dixieland and early jazz influence as well as a touch of early country, sown with sweet fiddles,
shuffley guitar, sassy trumpet and sassy drumset. And just when you think you have them pegged, they turn up the
heat just a little more and the hot oil really begins to sizzle. Straight-up shimmying tunes.
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BadaBing BadaBoom Jonesin' to Swing
Stephan Dudash on viola.
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Bach, Beatles, Bluegrass
Stephan Dudash on mandolin/fiddle.
The Nammie Award-winning instrumental group redefines the Three B's of music as it wraps its unique sound around works
from a wide array of composers, including Hoagy Carmichael, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, Dickey Betts and,
as noted in the CD title, J.S. Bach and Lennon & McCartney. The group also introduces new music from composers Charlie
Provenza and Roger Hudson, along with fresh, engaging arrangements of traditional music from the bluegrass repertoire.
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The String Quartet Tribute to Depeche Mode
Stephan Dudash on viola and violin.
Vitamin takes on the brood and sway of Depeche Mode with this string quartet tribute, running through nine of the band's
songs with the aid of violin, cello, acoustic bass, viola, and a bit of percussion. Like most string interpretations of
pop music, the album can grow tedious over the long haul. However, there's plenty to like incrementally, especially for
fans. Highlights include "Personal Jesus," with its hint of mouth percussion during the breakdown, and the violins aping
the tradeoff vocals of "Master and Servant." There are a few glaring omissions -- "Everything Counts" and "Policy of Truth"
among them. Even still, Depeche Mode completists should get a kick out of the novelty and slight decadence of this
collection. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
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String Quartet Tribute to Garth Brooks
Stephan Dudash on acoustic guitar.
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Always...Patsy Cline
Stephan Dudash on acoustic guitar.
Always... Patsy Cline tells the story of Louise, a Texas housewife, and her two-year friendship with the rising country
singer before Cline’s tragic early death in an airplane crash. The Off-Broadway musical is a loving tribute to one of
country music’s superstars. Recorded live, Always... includes such classic Patsy Cline hits as “Crazy,”
“Sweet Dreams,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces” and many more.
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Dream Come True
Stephan Dudash on mandolin and violin.
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Appalachian Gospel
Stephan Dudash as musician.
Stella Parton returns to recording with this no-frills collection of mostly traditional material. Things here are
rousing, tasteful, and thoroughly in line with the country gospel tradition (especially the robust medleys "Power
in the Blood" and "Somebody Touched Me"), but there are also some nice folk touches and twinges of adventurous
arrangement. A medley featuring "This Little Light of Mine" takes some interesting turns with its harmonies,
while "Precious Memories" is pleasantly understated, with mandolin and warm acoustic guitar supporting
Parton's prominent vocals. Occasionally she's a little too prominent, bursting forth with faith and good cheer.
However, that same vigorous reverence is also what makes Appalachian Gospel such a pleasant listen. Like the best
country gospel, it's plainspoken both in word and music. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
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Patty Loveless: Bluegrass and White Snow: A Mountain Christmas
Stephan Dudash on mandolin.
In the wake of the success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, with its traditional country and bluegrass
music, Epic Records green-lighted Patty Loveless' plan to record an acoustic country album, and she earned critical
kudos and respectable sales for 2001's Mountain Soul. Bluegrass and White Snow: A Mountain Christmas, her holiday
follow-up, repeats the approach on a collection of traditional and original seasonal music. As with Mountain Soul,
Loveless and her husband and producer, Emory Gordy Jr., display their knowledge of bluegrass and mountain music,
filling the tracks with mandolins, dobros, and fiddles, over which Loveless sings fervently in her Kentucky twang.
But the songs on Mountain Soul tended to be ones written in the styles in which they were being played, whereas
many of the Christmas carols heard here are being adapted to these arrangements. "Silver Bells," for example,
isn't even a traditional song, but rather a composition by the Hollywood movie songwriters Jay Livingston and
Ray Evans, and "Little Drummer Boy," another ringer, is given perhaps its first arrangement not to feature any
drums. Meanwhile, in his pursuit of a mountain sound, Gordy isn't above eliminating his wife, whose name is on
the front of the album: "Carol of the Bells" is an instrumental featuring the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble on
which Loveless does not perform. The album is better, and sounds more authentic, on country-oriented material
such as "Christmas Time's a Comin'" and "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem," and on the three new songs written by
Loveless and Gordy, especially the up-tempo "Santa Town" and "Christmas Day at My House," which should have
been sequenced earlier on the disc for better balance. So, while effective, the album is not as good as it
could have been. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
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