Rick Faris – Life’s Parade
This collection gets off to a light, relaxing bluegrass touch decorated with banjo, & fiddle surrounding Rick Faris’ expressive vocals. This is Rick’s fourth solo album & the lead-off song “Bend, Don’t Break” could be considered not only bluegrass but simply mountain music with an arrangement.
There are 12 lives to Life’s Parade (Drops July 11/Dark Shadow Recording/38:20) produced by Stephen Mougin (baritone vocal). It represents, to a certain small degree, a Hee-Haw flavor but on a far more serious plane. The picking is often stellar. Rick Faris has a distinguished, naturally excised bluegrass tone.
There’s nothing here novelty-oriented, silly, or campy. The music has fuel, but no showboating sugar-coated color-treated hair with imitation leather. Rick Faris has a talent for playing ‘60s perceptive country music with its persistent catchiness (“You Don’t Know What You’re Missing”) spiced up in a traditional-type open pasture recipe & slathered on a vinyl platter with hot buttered notes & picking syrup. How attractive is that?
The playing is exquisite throughout, airy, breezy & tastefully projected. It’s Honeysuckle scented music if played in a cow pasture, would draw the entire herd to stand & listen.
Even a tune like “Lonesome Is Your Name” could be slowed down into a ballad & sung by a mainstream troubadour at a piano bar. The songs have value beyond their country fertilization. “Storm Clouds” has the added value of a female vocal that complements the country-accented voice of Mr. Faris. A careful listen to Rick’s lyrics & one would hear that these songs are not the standard straw hat & hay dispensation of a dirt-road life. Rick has applied some coherent words to his repertoire.
The band plays confidently & most songs are good cocktails without alcohol. There’s no aggression except for enthusiasm, no deep messages, just a fusion of countrified elements that would get dancers to forget the corn & bunions on their feet. On “The Rabbit Hole,” it sounds like Flatt & Scruggs recruited a vocalist in Rick Faris. Yeah, the pickers sound that good & Rick — in a flesh-colored hat & paisley shirt. The guy has style.
Highlights – “Bend, Don’t Break,” Can’t Sing the Blues No More,” “Lonesome Is Your Name,” “Storm Clouds,” “The Sound of Lonely,” “You Don’t Know What You’re Missing,” “Can’t Remember To Forget,” & “The Rabbit Hole.”
Musicians – Rick Faris (guitar/vocals/tenor vocal), Dan Tyminski, Harry Clark & Henry Burgess (mandolin), Ron Block, Russ Carson & Gibson Davis (banjo), Laura Orshaw & Maddie Denton (fiddles), Mark Schatz & Dennis Crouch & JimBob Faris (bass), Dan Tyminski, Shawn Lane, Justin Moses Eddie Faris & JimBob Faris (tenor vocal), Maddie Dalton (high baritone vocal), Gibson Davis (baritone vocal) & Jason Carter (bass vocal & devil laugh).
Color & B&W images courtesy of Rick’s website gallery. CD @ Amazon & https://rickfaris.com/home