Album Review: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, More Behind The Picture Than The Wall

Now that my schedule has returned to a more manageable pace, it’s time to start catching up on album reviews. The latest offering from bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson was actually released at the end of March, but it deserves a belated review.

What do you get when you take country songs, add bluegrass instrumentation and interpret them like gospel hymns? Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver have made a career of singing gospel bluegrass, but their latest secular release is a superb fusion of the three musical styles that form the lifeblood of what modern country music should be. It’s also a fitting send-off for lead singer Jamie Dailey, who is leaving Quicksilver at the end of the year, and the two other Quicksilver members who have left the group since the album was recorded. Lawson should have no trouble finding new talent when he can promise projects like this.

“Sadie’s Got Her New Dress On,” the bright album-opener about the male reaction to a young girl’s first foray into the world of romance, is fairly standard bluegrass fare that offers only a glimpse of what’s to come. Things quickly take a country turn as Doyle sings lead on “The Phone Call,” penned by noted country-pop songsmith Harvey Allen. Allen twists the usual story of a grown son making peace with his tough-love father and instead writes a plea for forgiveness from a dying man who realizes that his callus decisions have only alienated his family. There’s no sappy forgiveness as the song reaches an ambiguous and spiritual conclusion.

“The Selfishness in Man” is a powerful song that has been recorded by an impressive array of country and bluegrass artists, but Quicksilver gives the song an aura more becoming an eternal truth than a social commentary. The song ends in a crescendo of vocal harmony that makes it sound like Quicksilver is not decrying evil so much as offering it up to the heavens.

Indeed, the album is full of good country songs elevated to the level of something truly special by Quicksilver’s gospel-bluegrass interpretation. “Whatever Happened to Us” would be a tear-in-your-beer honkytonk anthem in the hands of most artists, but Quicksilver makes it into something almost ethereal. The title track, written by Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon and Don Miller, could be released as a country radio single by a different artist. Lawson’s vocal paints the haunting picture of an aging man confessing that the smiling faces hanging on his wall aren’t what they appear to be.

While inspirational country material dominates the album, more traditional bluegrass elements are not neglected. The instrumental “Tulsa Turn-a-round” proves that Lawson is still nearly peerless as a mandolin player. Jamie Dailey’s youthful voice carries many of the tracks and his bandmates’ harmony creates a truly special aural experience.

The album’s only misstep is a “retro” remix of “Can You Hear Me Now,” the penultimate track. I’m not sure what Lawson’s intent was, but the result is a cut that sounds just like what it is: a modern recording run through a bland digital audio filter. The album is also somewhat top-heavy; while the recordings on the second-half of the project and undeniably strong, they don’t pack the punch of the inspirationals that populate the beginning of the album.