James Otto, Jeff Bates, Hayes Carll, Longview, Gibson Brothers dish out new music

James Otto had been on Mercury, but didn't have any big hits He eventually resurfaced with the MuzikMafia of Gretchen Wilson and John Rich with Rich producing most of the CD. The first single is the hit "Just Got Started Lovin' You." Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts also produced.

Jeff Bates is the flagship artist on a brand new Nashville label after releasing several albums on the SonyBMG label and scoring several hits. The new CD contains 13 tracks with 10 penned by Bates. He teamed with such co-writers as Lonnie Wilson, Kim Williams, Ben Hayslip, Brandon Kinney, Jimmy Yeary, Robert Arthur, Kirk Roth, Jim McCormick, Jason Matthews and Kenny Beard. Paul Overstreet, Deborah Allen, Frank Rogers and Casey Beathard also contributed songs.

Hayes Carll releases his label debut after previously been on Compadre and on his own. The Texas native received much praise for his disc "Little Rock." Brad Jones produced, mixed and engineered the 14 songs, which range from the opening "Drunken Poet's Dream" to the closing "She Left Me For Jesus."

Six years have passed since the last recording from bluegrass supergroup Longview, and this marks their much-anticipated return with a different line-up. Original members James King, Don Rigsby, and Marshall Wilborn are now joined by J.D. Crowe, Ron Stewart and Lou Reid. Crowe also has his own band.

The Gibson Brothers, a New York-based bluegrass band, released their fourth disc, "Iron and Diamonds," for the label. The Gibsons produced the CD, which contains seven new Gibson originals and covers of songs by Roger Miller, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, Julie Miller, and Bill Carlisle. Produced by Eric and Leigh Gibson and long-time bassist Mike Barber, the album was recorded in October. Joining Eric (vocals, banjo, guitar), Leigh (vocals, guitar), and Mike (upright bass) are band mates Clayton Campbell (fiddle) and Rick Hayes (mandolin) and guests Junior Barber (Dobro and Weissenborn guitar) and sister Erin LaClair (vocals).