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Follow Your Heart
By Chris Jones
Review By
Teri Ann McLean
Owning a Chris Jones CD is like finding a hidden ruby
in a world where diamonds take the spotlight. The truly savviest of
bluegrassers have the inside scoop about this tasteful yet
mostly-underrated guitarist and vocalist. I first “discovered” this gem of
a musician when I bought his instructional guitar DVD “The Art of
Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar” which prompted me to go out and buy the first
Chris Jones album I could find. That album, “Follow Your Heart,” quickly
became a favorite in my collection.
Released in 1998, this album deserves to be re-visited. It includes what
was to become International Bluegrass Music Association’s Song of the Year
in 2007, Fork in the Road. Vastly different in interpretation from the
Infamous Stringdusters’ award-winning rendition, this is a great song no
matter which way you slice it, but my favorite on the album has to be the
title track which Jones co-wrote with Harley Allen. Jones is one of the
most tasteful guitarists in the business, and his voice, while anything
but the “high lonesome sound,” is instead a deep warm baritone that gives
you the instant feeling of being right at home. Jones’ version of
Nashville Blues is maybe the most memorable one I’ve heard or at least the
one that sticks in my head for hours and days every time I give this album
a listen. Jones’ easy style is most evident on songs like I’m So Afraid of
Losing You Again, a Dallas Frazier/A.L. Owens song made famous by Charley
Pride, and Nobody There But Me.
This album is a great “starter album” for the novice bluegrasser because
of the combination in style of country and bluegrass that’s not
overbearingly driving on such upbeat numbers as Leaning on the Everlasting
Arms and Nashville Blues. Jones even swings a little on I’m Ready if
You’re Willin’, a fun song that will have you moving. If you do not yet
own a Chris Jones album, I highly recommend this as your first, but I’ll
betcha can’t have just one!
~Teri Ann McLean, Mar 2009
Host of “Something Borrowed; Something Bluegrass”
The Bluegrass Mix
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