Marbletown (Rounder) REVIEWS  

August, 2005
Exciting Reviews from Around.

“The five members of this group are as nimble-fingered as almost anyone in bluegrass music. Blue Highway always excels at coming up with interesting, varied material.”

- Ralph Novak, People and more.  Click here to read all of them.

June, 2005
Country Standard Time
Blue Highway: the band remains the same

Bluegrass is not known for long-lived bands with stable lineups, and so it is that much more remarkable that the five names on the back cover of "Marbletown," the seventh release from Blue Highway since their mid-90's formation are the same five as on their 1995 debut, "It's a Long, Long Road": guitarist Tim Stafford, bass player Wayne Taylor, mandolinist Shawn Lane, banjo player Jason Burelson and Dobro ace Rob Ickes. Click here for more.

People (July, 2005)

The five members of this group are as nimble-fingered as almost anyone in bluegrass music.  Jason Burleson, especially is a first rate banjo player.  But bluegrassers do not live by picking alone, and Blue Highway excels at coming up with interesting varied material.  On the band's seventh album, the songs range from Mark Knopfler's evocative title tune about freight-hopping to Gary Scrugg's imaginative gospel number "Lazarus" and the mournful "No Home to Go Home To" by Wayne Taylor.  Blue Highway's bass player, Taylor sings too, as do Shaw Lane and Tim Stafford, though all suffer from muddy diction, which is the quintet's main short coming. -- R.N.

Entertainment Weekly (July, 2005)

"Bluegrass supergroup" may sound like an oxymoron, but you've the title when you boast five singer-songwriters who resumes include stints with  Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss, and Ricky Scaggs.  On Marbletown (out June 7), Blue Highway apply their hot licks and high lonesome vocals to a stack of rueful tunes.  Highlight: Guitarist Tim Stafford's waltz "Quarter Moon" sounds like an instant classic.  Why are these guys super? They can make your heart soar even as it's breaking. A- -- Bob Cannon

No Depression (July, 2005)

Ten years with the same lineup is practically unheard of in bluegrass, and while technically speaking, Blue Highway doesn't quite qualify - banjoist Jason Burleson dropped out for a year or so half way through that stretch - to focus on the footnote is to miss the point:  Blue Highway is an unusually cohesive group with a strong musical identity.  Their third Rounder album makes a compelling argument that they're also among the music's most underrated acts.

As Jon Hartley Fox's liner notes suggest, the difference between the Scott Rouse-produced Marbletown and its predecessors is incremental, not dramatic, and why shouldn't it be?  Instrumentally, the band has always been rock solid, with award winning dobro man Rob Ickes and guitarist Tim Stafford standing out as especially distinctive stylists (though Shawn Lane's mandolin playing has yet to get the attention it merits).

They have great singing, too; Lane and bassist Wayne Taylor offer a well matched duet complemented by (and sometimes complementing) Stafford' lower but still plenty lonesome vocals.  These traits have been the foundation of Blue Highway's sound from the beginning and by now, they're well polished, yet without a trace of staleness.

What really makes the group stand out, though, is the quality of its songwriting.  Their Rounder debut, Still Climbing Mountains. made the point undeniable, but the disc's release date - September 11, 2001 - ensure that it was all but lost.  Here, with ten new songs complementing the covers that kick off the disc, the group confirms that the deep originality of its predecessor was no fluke.

Memorable tunes, vivid imagery, and thoughtful, precise turns of phrase succeed one another with Taylor, Stafford and Lane each making contributions that are distinctive and yet reflective of a collective Blue Highway sound and style.  The result is an album that merits attention especially from those with an interest in songcraft - but really from anyone with an ear for good music. - Jon Weisberger.

Detroit Free Press (July, 2005)

On a scale measuring adherence to bluegrass music's traditions, Blue Highway falls about midway between the by-the-book sounds of Doyle Lawson and the sometimes-wayward stylings of Alison Krauss.  The decade-old five-piece has an eerie way of making bluegrass feel contemporary, edgy even, without abandoning any of the laws laid down by its founding fathers.  Much of the credit goes to members Tim Stafford and Shawn Lane, who craft songs that pay heed to lyrics and melodies as well as the sterling musicianship for which the music has always been known.

Although this outing opens with the blues-tingers "Marbletown" (from the pen of Mark Knopfler), closes with a revved-up train song and haunts the listener with the dark and hurried "Nothing But a Whippoorwill," it's the mellow  moments that linger longest in the mind.  Stafford's lovely waltz "Quarter Moon" and bittersweet "I Used to Love Parades" are standouts, as are Lane's aching "Tears Fell On Missouri" and bass player Wayne Taylor's "No Home To Go Home To," a timeless weeper about home, hearth and love that fails to endure. - Greg Crawford

Associated Press (July, 2005)

Recently deceased bluegrass pioneer Jimmy Martin can rest in peace knowing the genre is thriving.

Fans have enjoyed excellent new CDs in the past few months by such acts as Crooked Still, NewFound Road, Last Train Home, Old School Freight Train and Dannyk Roberts, among others, and the latest release from Blue Highway may be the best of the bunch.  'Marbletown' offers 12 songs that showcase the 10-year-old quintet's remarkable singing skills.

Tim Stafford and Shawn Lane handle most of the lead vocals, but all five members provide harmonies in a engaging variety of combinations. 

There's plenty of impressive picking, too, and the material is first-rate - 10 original tunes and two covers, including the title cut by the Dire Strait's Mark Knoplfer.

Among the highlights are lane's mournful ballad, 'Tears Fell on Missouri,' Stafford's biographical 'Wild Bill' - which breaks into a roosty reel in the middle - and the instrumental 'Three-Finger Jack,' two minutes of bluegrass heaven.

Jimmy Martin's loving it! - Steven Wine