He gets things off to a lively and wonderful start with a cover of Bill Monroe’s “Roanoke,” a great instrumental track first released on a single by Bill Monroe And His Blue Grass Boys in 1955. This rendition will immediately strike you as a bit different from that original version as it begins with drums. And yes, it contains plenty of good work on fiddle and guitar. Ernest Brusubardis IV joins the group on fiddle on this one. There is a great joy in the playing, just the sort of thing we need these days, when the world is once again getting a bit too serious. Michael Kessler then slows things down with “Ashokan Farewell,” a beautiful piece composed by Jay Ungar in 1982 and used in the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War. This is a sweet rendition, featuring some nice stuff on guitar and pretty work on fiddle. It’s perhaps a bit more cheerful than some versions you’ve heard, and there is some unexpected, but wonderful vocal work toward the end (though no lyrics, of course).
The first of the tracks on this album to feature a full vocal performance is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” a song that The Byrds released first, including it on their 1968 album Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, though messing up the lyrics slightly. Roger McGuinn sang “Pack up your money, pick up your tent” instead of the line as written, “Pick up your money, pack up your tent.” That led to Bob Dylan poking fun of McGuinn in his own version, singing “Pack up your money, put up your tent, McQuinn.” That version includes several other lyric changes, and there are still other differences in the version from Dylan’s Bootleg Series, and it is that rendition from which Michael Kessler took inspiration for his own recording. Kessler adds one lyric change of his own, singing “a bun that sings” rather than “a gun that sings,” not wanting to sing about guns in this crazy climate of gun violence in our country. It’s a change that works for me. This is a cool version, moving at a relaxed pace and featuring some nice backing vocal work on the chorus. I also really like the guitar lead in the middle. He then goes back to 1950s fiddle music with a cover of “Cherokee Shuffle,” a tune written by Tommy Jackson. Michael Kessler delivers a strong rendition that features some excellent guitar work. He follows that with a moving rendition of The Dillards’ “There Is A Time,” which was written by Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne. This track features some great stuff on fiddle. “The woods are greener over yonder/The path is new, the world is free.”
“Morning Dew” is a fantastic song written and originally recorded by Bonnie Dobson in the early 1960s. But the first version I heard was by the Grateful Dead, and it floored me. The song takes place after a nuclear holocaust, when almost everyone is dead. The lyrics are simple, but oh-so-effective. I am guessing that Michael Kessler took at least a little inspiration from the Dead, for this recording starts with some absolutely wonderful and moving guitar work. There is also some really nice stuff on keys. In fact, this version is like the jam at the end of a stellar rendition. It’s like he’s beginning the track toward the end. He does not do any of the lyrics. (By the way, if you haven’t heard the Dead do it, a good place to start would be the Cornell show from May 8, 1977, and then maybe go to the one from October 12, 1984.) Then we get the album’s second Bob Dylan song, “Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn).” This is another song that I saw the Grateful Dead cover several times in concert. Michael Kessler delivers an interesting version that begins on drums and features good work on organ. When Michael and backing vocalists sing “Come on without,” it sounds as if they are really urging us to join. And there is a sort of spoken word vibe to his delivery of the “I like to do just like the rest” verse. This track also contains some nice work on bass, particularly in the second half.
Michael Kessler next turns to a traditional number, “Working On A Building.” On the CD case, the song is attributed to Ralph Stanley. Ralph Stanley And The Clinch Mountain Boys did certainly record it, and The Stanley Brothers did it before them, but I don’t think they were the first to do so. The Carter Family recorded it in the 1930s, but they weren’t the first to perform it either. Anyway, Michael Kessler delivers a cheerful and uplifting rendition, featuring a delicious guitar lead in the middle (I wish that went on a little longer). And there is a little nod to “When The Saints Go Marching In” on keys near the end. That’s followed by another traditional number, “Ain’t No More Cane On The Brazos.” A lot of folks have recorded and performed this one over the years, including Ernest Williams, Odetta, Lonnie Donegan, Eric Bibb, and Son Volt. It seems that Michael Kessler has taken some inspiration for his version from the recording by Bob Dylan and The Band. This version has some nice vocal work, but does not include any of the lyrics.
Michael Kessler then turns to the blues, covering Roy Buchanan’s “The Messiah Will Come Again.” His version features some passionate guitar work. It is delivered as an instrumental, cutting that spoken word section that is at the beginning of some of Roy Buchanan’s recordings. The album concludes with a song by Radiohead, “Fake Plastic Trees.” It begins with a pounding on the drum, like the knocking on the gate of a castle. While this might seem an odd choice of songs, not quite working with the rest of the material he’s chosen, it surprisingly ends up fitting rather well on the album. This track features some good work on violin, and some of the best vocal work on the disc. It’s a beautiful rendition.
CD Track List
- Roanoke
- Ashokan Farewell
- You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
- Cherokee Shuffle
- There Is A Time
- Morning Dew
- Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
- Working On A Building
- Ain’t No More Cane On The Brazos
- The Messiah Will Come Again
- Fake Plastic Trees
Gravel Road was released on CD on March 15, 2024, and is scheduled to be released digitally on April 12th.
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