» More From Today's Press-Register

Entertainment Columnist Lawrence Specker
»
Time for some local listening
Friday, November 10, 2006
The second week in November finds me in a familiar place: peering out from behind a stack of local albums that have been waiting for some overdue attention.

Our region tends to enjoy a span of fine weather from late September into early November, and we capitalize by going on a spree of festivals, fairs, concerts, block parties and other outdoor happenings. But while we've been doing that, it seems, many of the area's musical talents have been releasing material they worked on through the summer months.

Now it's time for a listening party. The backlog adds up to more discs than I can get to this week, so rest assured that there's more to come. Up today are a trio of works from veteran area players, a selection that spans the territory from blues-rock to bluegrass to countrified Southern rock.



Reign day

Benita Murphy, the bassist, principal arranger and lead vocalist for Delta Reign, calls it "bluegrass -- but."

It's a phrase that has come up a lot, she said, when she's tried to convince new venues to book the band. As in, "we play bluegrass -- but you don't have to be a bluegrass purist to enjoy it."

It's a sales pitch that should be easier to make now that the trio -- which also features Norman Jeter on guitar and Pat Murphy on banjo -- has its debut album to present as a calling card.

"Down on the Delta" crystallizes "a couple of years of working pretty hard at it," as Pat Murphy summed up the band's career. It also does a fine job of illustrating what band members are talking about when they describe their music as a blend of bluegrass and western swing.

How does that concept work out in practice? You might call it a low-tension version of bluegrass.

Mandolinist Phil Proctor of the Dog River Boys sits in on occasion (and contributes to this album as well), and Pat Murphy occasionally picks up the mandolin or fiddle, but the basic Delta Reign mix consists of banjo, bass and guitar.

Doing without fiddle and mandolin, two high-pitched instruments commonly dominant in bluegrass, means Delta Reign's music has a lower center of gravity, tone-wise. Benita Murphy's vocal range also is lower than the usual "high lonesome" territory.

Trios are a rarity in the bluegrass world -- so much so, the Murphys said, that they are sometimes told by festival organizers that they'd prefer it if the group showed up with a fourth picker. But as is often the case with players in rock and jazz trios, the Murphys said they're drawn to the format because of the space it offers.

Happily, they make that space a part of the music, rather than drowning it out the way a rock power trio might. Delta Reign's tempos tend to be more in keeping with western swing's amble than the bluegrass scramble, Jeter's guitar lines tend to be more lyrical and less percussive than the bluegrass norm.


"We come from a background of traditional," Benita Murphy said. "We honor our roots."

But "Down on the Delta" is about a tradition that's all their own. They take some genuine bluegrass standards in unexpected directions, such as a jazzy turn on "Wayfarin' Stranger" and a tight bounce on "Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan."

They also transform some songs that never have been bluegrass standards -- Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," Hank Williams' "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight" -- and fool you into thinking they might have been. One particular highlight is "Ready For the Times to Get Better," an Allen Reynolds composition that was a late '70s hit for Crystal Gayle.

Aside from the instrumental track that gives "Down on the Delta" its name, this is an album of covers. Now that they've learned the ropes with this effort, recorded at Pat Murphy's own Back Door Studios in Mobile, the Murphys said they're eager to follow up with an album of original material. That might see them heading in a different direction.

"Where we see it going is more Americana," Pat Murphy said. "There's no stereotypes in that genre. Anything goes."

In the meantime, "Down on the Delta" is something to savor, especially for folks who think Lower Alabama should serve its bluegrass with a twist.

The album is available locally at Satori Coffee and Carpe Diem in Mobile, Bay Sound in Daphne and Dr. Music in Fairhope. You also can find it online at www.cdbaby.com and iTunes.