Long Way Back Home

The Gibson Brothers have been one of the most consistent folk and bluegrass acts on the circuit since the mid-'90s. Their radical hard country approach to the music stands out in stark contrast to the generic would-be neo-revivalists. Eric and Leigh approach each song, whether it be Kieran Kane's stomping "Mountain Song," Gordon Lightfoot's classic "Long Way Back Home," or their own "I'm Not Wanted Here" with its Earl Scruggs banjosity, with the same elegance and viewpoint -- that this is a living tradition descended from antiquity. This music is not preserved as such; instead, it is sometimes vibrant, alive, joyous, and rolling, and at other times spooky or heartbreaking. In any case, it is music that assents to life and the mountain heritage. Easily their most accomplished outing, Long Way Back Home is the kind of bluegrass record that doesn't get made anymore, with amazing heartfelt singing, popping instrumental breaks, and a freshness that could never exist in a museum of dead legacies. ~ Thom Jurek