Walking on New Grass (Pinecastle, 1997)

This is the freshman project of singer and dobro player Tim Graves, better known as the band leader for the bluegrass group Cherokee. Graves has all the tools. He does some fine dobro work, and his smooth voice is a pleasure to the ear.

Even so, this project runs somewhat hot and cold. His rendition of "Another Tear" could stand up to the best bluegrass has to offer, but the title cut seems to lack the "drive" so necessary in the genre. This is somewhat interesting because the project was produced by Sonny Osborne and he knows "drive." The hot instrumental "Fireball" showcases Graves's mastery of the dobro. Unfortunately, the dobro is mixed so hot in relation to the other instruments that the song seems to drop of the face of the CD player when banjo and guitar hit their breaks. Still there are enough high spots to enjoy such as the heart wrenching "Bitter They Are The Harder They Fall" and the Carl Jackson song "Close To The Edge."

Graves's wonderful vocals are definitely his biggest asset. All in all, not bad for an initial effort.