Tara Nevins - Mule To Ride (1999)

Fiddler Tara Nevins's name adorns this fine newgrass outing. She also claims production credit and penned four of the 20 songs here while arranging several others. But it's apparent from the opening track, the traditional "Fall on My Knees," that this is no one-woman showcase. In fact, Nevins, who's a fine vocalist, turns the mic over to old Donna the Buffalo foil Jim Miller right out of the box. Elsewhere, mountain-music patriarch Ralph Stanley and others take vocal duties. Not that Nevins is shy: listen to how she makes the traditional "Troubles" her own with help from Mike Seeger and perfectly complementary Native American vocal treatments from Moontee Sinqua. Her repertoire leans toward old-timey tunes, but she's not afraid to reach into her bag of tricks to pull out something like the blues warhorse "Sittin' on Top of the World." Nevins and her crew stretch the reach of bluegrass, but just enough so that they sit down and get comfortable again. --Steven Stolder