Becky Buller: "Songs That Sing Me" (2025) CD Review

Becky Buller is an award-winning fiddle player and vocalist who, in addition to her prowess on the fiddle, is known for her talent in songwriting. Songs that she has written or co-written have been recorded by Infamous Stringdusters, Ricky Skaggs, and Molly Tuttle, among others. On her new album, Songs That Sing Me, she focuses on the material of other songwriters, performing songs by Paul Simon, James Taylor, Mike Henderson and others. Becky Buller plays fiddle on most of the tracks, switching to banjo for only one song. She is joined by some outstanding musicians, including Ned Luberecki on banjo, Béla Fleck on banjo, Alison Brown on banjo, Ricky Skaggs on mandolin, Wes Lee on mandolin, Jacob Groopman on guitar, Missy Raines on bass, and Daniel Hardin on bass, among others. I like how the track list on the back of the CD case is shown as the paper insert of a mix tape. How many of those mix tapes did you make? I made dozens.

Becky Buller opens this album with Simon & Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade Of Winter." In 1987, The Bangles delivered a fantastic cover of this song. It was used at the beginning of the film adaptation of Less Than Zero. There is a moment or two when this rendition unexpectedly reminds me of that version, but Becky Buller makes this song her own, even before singing "drinking kombucha and lime" instead of "my vodka and lime" (a line that The Bangles didn't include at all in their version). Becky delivers an excellent vocal performance, and Alan Bartrom and Stephen Mougin add some nice backing vocal work. That's followed by Michael Henderson's "Auction At The Home Place," the first line delivered a cappella. This track features a particularly strong and passionate vocal performance. "We took many years to gather the treasures that we own/And all the bits and pieces of what became our home." She puts us there, making us experience what it would be like to see all our possessions up for sale. Jacob Groopman, Daniel Hardin and Ned Luberecki all provide backing vocals on this one. "They just hauled our lives away."

"Millworker" is the first of two James Taylor songs that Becky Buller covers on this album. It's a song that mentions Massachusetts, which is where James Taylor is from. Jake Eddy plays guitar on this track, delivering some excellent work, and Dan Tyminski and Andrea Zonn provide harmony vocals. This rendition has a brighter energy than the original recording, and features some pretty work on fiddle. The first time I listened to this disc, I happened to be in my hometown in Massachusetts, and this song flooded me with memories of my childhood. It's also about our choices, the way much of our lives is given to work. "It be me and my machine for the rest of the morning/For the rest of the afternoon, oh, for the rest of my life." Then Stuart Duncan joins her on fiddle for "Wall Around Your Heart." So we have two fiddles on this one. We also have two people on lead vocals, with Jim Lauderdale joining Becky Buller for a wonderful duet. In addition, Jeremy Stephens delivers some excellent work on banjo. Stephen Mougin is on guitar, Lauren Price Napier is on mandolin, and Missy Raines is on bass. Yeah, there's a whole lot of talent on this track.

"Ride On By" has a very cool vibe, and features another fantastic vocal performance by Becky Buller. There is a great energy to this track, and spots for Jacob Groopman to shine on guitar. This is one of my personal favorite tracks. In the second half, there is some outsanding work on fiddle, and then a moment when the music takes a breath before beginning to build, led by the fiddle and with a strong pulse on bass. Wonderful stuff all around! That's followed by "The Outlaw," one of those character songs, and in this one that character turns out to be Jesus. I'm not particularly fond of Jesus songs, but there is some  beautiful vocal work here. Becky Isaacs Bowman joins Becky Buller on this one. Justin Moses is on resophonic guitar, Jeff Hyde is on guitar, and Byron House is on bass. Becky gets bluesy then with "Muddy Water" (here titled "Muddy Waters"), a song written by Phil Rosenthal and originally recorded by The Seldom Scene. Jana Mougin, Stephen Mougin and Jay Starling all provide backing vocals on this one. And there is really nice stuff by each of the musicians here. That instrumental section is so good. Casey Campbell is on mandolin, Chris Eldridge is on guitar, Jeff Picker is on bass, and Jay Starling is on resophonic guitar. 

"Camel Train" is the song where Becky Buller plays clawhammer banjo instead of fiddle, but it is her vocal performance that makes this track stand out. Cheryl White, Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs all join her on vocals. This is another song with a religious theme, but it's good. Ricky Skaggs is on mandolin, Cheryl White is on bass, and Sharon White is on guitar. That's followed by "You Can't Roll A Seven Every Time," the album's only instrumental number (except for the banter in the intro, which is an old recording of Billy Womack and Mike Smartt). It will come as no surprise, I'm sure, to learn that this track contains some excellent fiddle work. There is also some really good stuff on mandolin and banjo. Timmy George is on mandolin, Ned Luberecki is on banjo, Mickey Harris is on bass, and Jeff Haley is on guitar.

The album's second James Taylor song is "Jellyman Kelly," a playful, fun number that James performed on Sesame Street. And on this one, Becky Buller gets some help on vocals by Juno Fleck, Theo Fleck, Romy Haley and Abigail Washburn. The great Béla Fleck is on banjo, and he delivers some wonderful work (would you expect anything less?). Juno is on fiddle, so this is another track with two fiddles. This track is a total delight. Even the laughter at the end works and doesn't detract from the enjoyment. Becky Buller has another talented group of musicians join her on "Reach," the Orleans song. Alison Brown is on banjo, Sierra Hull is on mandolin and backing vocals, Missy Raines is on bass, and Molly Tuttle is on guitar and backing vocals. "My aspirations always exceed my grasp." Oh yes, I think most of us are in touch with that. This song urges us onward, the music giving us the hope and belief that we'll reach our goals. As on the original recording, the music here speeds up toward end. It's a wonderful conclusion to an excellent album. 

CD Track List

1. A Hazy Shade Of Winter
2. Auction At The Home Place
3. Millworker
4. Wall Around Your Heart
5. Ride On By
6. The Outlaw
7. Muddy Waters
8. Camel Train
9. You Can't Roll A Seven Every Time
10. Jellyman Kelly
11. Reach

Songs That Sing Me was released on September 5, 2025.