Ralph Stanley
“Ralph Stanley” (DMZ/Columbia)
Gangsta rappers could use the collected works of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley as a primer. In his 75th year, the man of constant sorrow became something of a pop celebrity with his performance of “O Death” at the Grammy Awards, from the multiplatinum “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soundtrack.
Though the fad for mountain-soul may fade, Stanley’s music likely never will. Its timeless themes — tragedy, death and the hereafter — are spread over the 11 murder ballads, hymns and laments on Stanley’s first post-“O Brother” recording, which reunites him with the soundtrack’s producer, T Bone Burnett. The backing cast is the all-star bluegrass equivalent of a classical string quartet: banjoist Stuart Duncan, guitarist Norman Blake, mandolinist Mike Compton and upright bassist Dennis Crouch. Stanley’s baritone cuts like a rusty switchblade through a world of deceit and betrayal, never more so than on “Mathie Grove,” an ancient folk song in which a cuckold beheads his unfaithful wife and kicks her remains against the wall. Songs such as “Lift Him Up, That’s All” and “Calling You” glimpse redemption, even as the ache in Stanley’s voice suggests that it’s just out of reach.
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More reviews of recently released recordings can be found in Tuesday’s Tempo section.
