Benny's TV Repair (Mountain Fever, 2019)
Irene Kelley
Reviewed by John Lupton
And Kelley is no newcomer to the scene. She's been an in-demand writer in Nashville for more than 30 years, with songs recorded by people with names like Yearwood, Lynn, Jackson and Skaggs. Her success in the mainstream country business notwithstanding, she's a bluegrasser at heart, and her strong, clear-as-a-bell voice is tailor-made for the genre. It's almost a truism to say that Music Row is full of writers and singers who are more talented than the stars who fill the arenas, but Kelley's talent goes a lot deeper and wider than songs about beer and trucks, and from beginning to end, this is a tour de force for her.
It's also said (here at least) that you can tell a lot about an artist by looking at the liner notes to see who they can get to record with them. It's an impressive cast. But when your core studio band features top-rank talents like Bryan Sutton, Stuart Duncan, Adam Steffey, Matt Menefee and Mark Fain, it speaks volumes about the regard that Kelley's peers have for her. People this good don't sit in with just anybody. The end result is one of the most satisfying bluegrass albums to come down the pike in a while.
CDs by Irene Kelley
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