The High Bar Gang
Album: Lost & Undone: A Gospel Bluegrass Companion
Label: True North
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.highbargang.com

The High Bar Gang are a seven piece Canadian band who formed in 2010 after Colin Nairne (guitar, mandolin and vocals) had attended a few Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals and had the yen to put a bluegrass band together.

Following their first gig, Nairne's friend Ry Cooder sent them a repertoire of songs and it is these that make up Lost and Undone: A Gospel Bluegrass Companion. The songs of the Stanley Brothers dominate the album contributing nearly a third of the tracks (including Angel Band, if you then throw in a couple from the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe add Julie Millers' 'modern gospel classic' All My Tears and finish with the Hank Williams standard I Saw The Light you have a collection that is high calibre throughout.

The bands sound is formed around the vocal harmonies of Shari Ulrich, Angela Harris, Wendy Bird and Barney Bentall and augmented by by classy guitar, banjo, madolin, fiddle and bass. All of which was recorded, live, with no overdubs, in mono in Bentall's living room.

And yet, for all this, Lost and Undone is an album that I struggle to find an emotional attachment to. If I wanted a Gospel Bluegrass Companion, in mono with songs by Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers et al then I would go back to the original recordings - they are not hard to find.

What I would like to hear is musicians this good doing original material.

John 'The Jacket' Hawes