First Impressions: "Almost Proud" by The Del McCoury Band

 

Released on February 18, 2022

Because this is the very first album "review" I've posted on Bluegrass from the Other Side, I need to say a couple of things about my process and what I'm trying to achieve. I do not consider what I write about specific albums to be album reviews, as such. What you will read here is simply my reaction to what I hear the first time or two I sit down and play an album all the way through. I try to capture what I felt in those first moments before I get lost in the technical aspects of the recording and forget those first impressions. 

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Almost Proud opens with the cut of the same title, a song written by Eric Gibson and Mike Barber that was lost for about a decade before being returned to Erik by his brother-in-law. Eric did a little tweaking, and Del apparently loved the result. The lyrics seem perfect for a man of Del's age (83) and stature, and his approach to the vocals is so perfect that it sounds almost effortless. It's easy to picture Del looking back on his long life this way and being "almost proud" of how it all turned out so well.

Almost Proud really is an album to be proud of, one that compares favorably with anything being recorded in bluegrass today. The album includes some pure bluegrass, some traditional country, a trio of drinking-to-forget songs, a story-song, an ode to the working man, one that's almost gospel, and even a hint of jazz. It's all there, and it's all good.

Brown Paper Bag is the first of three consecutive songs exposing the futility of hoping the bottle will erase the pain of a breakup. This one has a country music feel to it, and Del's despair is obvious when he admits that he "took to the bottle as his one true companion." The theme continues in the quicker-paced Honky Tonk Nights (featuring Vince Gill) in which Del seems pleased enough for the moment with his three "new friends, whiskey, wine and beer." Next up in the drinking trilogy is a country-jazzy song called Once Again which finds Del trying to avoid both rain drops and tear drops, as he reaches for his "bottle of comfort."

The most traditional-bluegrass sounding tracks on the album are probably it's fourth and fifth cuts. My Little Darlin' has a driving mandolin intro, good harmony, a strong fiddle filling in the cracks, and the right rhythm and tempo to make it a good fit on anybody's bluegrass album. Then Running Wild manages to pick up the pace another notch because the band takes the song title seriously - as shown by both Del's vocal and the track's accompanying harmonies. 

Jason Carter's classic country fiddling is featured on three tracks: Love Don't Live Here Anymore (written by Kris Kristofferson a long time ago), The Misery You've Earned, and Rainbow of My Dreams. These are great reminders of what country music used to be back in the day before only bluegrass artists were recording it. 

Working Man's Wage is Del's ode to all the working men out there who raise families on "the working man's wage." Del's appreciation for men who work the hard jobs is also illustrated by Sid, a story-song about a 1920s coal mine confrontation that ends in the death of some desperate and brave men. The album closes with a near-gospel song called Other Shore in which Del looks forward to joining the one he misses so much on the "other side."

I find it so difficult to choose a favorite from the album's twelve songs, that I'm going to settle for a Top Three (in no certain order): Almost Proud, Rainbow of My Dreams, and Once Again.

Album Rating: 9 / 10

Left to Right: Rob McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Jason Carter, Alan Bartram, and Del McCoury