Album Review of
I Can Hear The Blue Ridge Calling Me

Written by Joe Ross
May 28, 2014 - 12:00am EDT
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Based in Maryland, Dean Sapp formed his first band in 1969 and has released many traditionally-based albums since 1987 with lively instrumental work and balanced vocal harmonies. With a large amount of original material, their eleventh release has six songs from Dean and two songs written by his brother Ben. "Elkton Knights" was written by Dan Curtis, the band's mandolin player from Baltimore, who succumbed on January 15, 2006 at age 71 to an illness called Crutchflied Jacobs. The band's bass-player, Darin Hirschy, and his wife, Tammy, document the story of their move from North Carolina to Maryland in "Leaving Carolina." Two additional numbers come from the pens of Jerry Don Martin and Dixie Hall.

The bluegrass community has taken note of Dean Sapp's songwriting. His 1997 release, "The Night the Titanic Went Down," resulted in an invitation to the ten-day Ausgrass ‘98 Festival near Sydney, Australia. Dean also appeared in the Songwriter's Showcase at IBMA's World of Bluegrass. Many of Sapp's songs are inspired by experiences in life or dreams. And I enjoyed Ben's instrumental, "I'm Thinking of You Little Darling." The band plays a variety of family venues, and they've also backed up Mac Wiseman, Bill Grant and Delia Bell, and others on occasion. Besides their original material, the band keeps Dean Sapp's bassy lead singing in the forefront. Like their last release, "Coal Black Gold," this new project was recorded at Dixie and Tom T. Hall's Studio in Franklin, TN. The Halls and Sapp have known each other and respected each other's music for many years. After Sapp repaired Hall's Gibson F-5 Lloyd Loar mandolin, the band was invited to stay with the Halls when they played the Station Inn in Nashville a few weeks later. Dixie Hall's "Something About Homemade Biscuits" acknowledges that the band's favorite kind of songs are story songs like this one. 

All songs onthe 39-minute album include: 1. Widow's Eyes, 2. Going To California, 3. Little Churches, 4. I'm Thinking Of You Little Darling, 5. I Can Hear The Blue Ridge Calling Me, 6. Something About Homemade Biscuits, 7. Leaving Carolina, 8. The Old Altar, 9. Even Steven, 10. Stop, And Smell The Roses,11. Elkton Knights, 12. When The Angels Come For Me

Dean Sapp's musical family roots go back to Virginia and North Carolina, where he started playing guitar at age six, seeing all the famous bluegrass musicians touring the area, and playing in bands with his uncles, Sonny and Johnny Miller. Besides guitar, Dean has also mastered banjo, mandolin, dobro, and bass. Dean is sole owner of "Dean Sapp's Music Store" located in Elkton, Md. where he gives lessons on all bluegrass instruments, buys and sells instruments, and repairs guitars. "I really do live for bluegrass music," he once said. Besides Sapp's guitar and vocals, this album features The Harford Express sound of Dan Curtis' mandolin, Ben Sapp's banjo, and Darin Hirchy's electric bass. Tim Graves guests as dobro player on a few cuts, and he particularly complements a slower number like the ¾-time "The Old Altar." The band now has Baltimore dobro player Russ Hooper and mandolin player Bobby Van Hoy. The band's collaborative result is a warm sound and feeling. Their charm is based on moving songs reminiscent of bluegrass music's bygone days, and not trying to over-produce them. (Joe Ross)