Hit and run, slow strangulation or some other nefarious deed? Whichever, the two chalk lines on stained gray cement spoke of tragedy. A third victim, voice silenced forever, lay sideways on a stretcher, pedals glistening like angry steel fangs in the sunlight.

Pedals? Metal fangs? Whoa! Upon closer examination, it can be seen that one chalky outline is fiddle-shaped. The “victim” sliding into the hearse is a pedal steel guitar. Tears, fears and gut-wrenching emotion will follow this tragedy, though neither flesh nor blood has been torn or spilled. Ears, not eyes, will ultimately record what has happened.

The above scene, depicted on the Murder on Music Row CD cover, amusingly satirizes the loss of the traditional country music sound. Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time have produced a superlative musical compilation that mixes old and new, joy and sorrow, country and bluegrass. The album’s timely title cut verbally bemoans a stylisic loss, while musically rendering the late, lamented sound they’re speaking of.

Included in the CD’s mix are two instrumentals and a recitation. “Black Jack” was originally recorded by J.D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys in 1969. “Buck’s Run,” written by Buck White, features a rip-roaring mandolin. “Old Kentucky Miners” was written and is performed on the CD by Bert Colwell. A haunting Appalachian fiddle and banjo duet of “Amazing Grace” backs Colwell’s crusty dialog. Other notable songs include: “I Wonder Where You are Tonight,” a 1941 Johnny Bond recording, “Jesus and Bartenders,” a song of drinking, depression and tearful confession, and “Black Diamond Strings,” a light-hearted, nostalgic number about old pickers and favored guitar strings.

Larry Cordle’s pleasing voice, and Lonesome Standard Time’s stellar group harmony and superior picking ensure that this album will please anyone. Cordle is a hit songwriter whose numbers have been recorded by George Jones, John Michael Montgomery, Ricky Skaggs, John Anderson and Trisha Yearwood, among others. George Strait and Alan Jackson have recently indicated their wish to record a duet of “Murder on Music Row” for release as a single.

Bluegrass is, among other things, a repository of the old-timey string-band sound that was country music in the 1920s and 30s. The fact that it has remained a niche music, while mainstream country has not, enables its practitioners to retain a purity and clearness of vision not always apparent in other genres. This album shows that bluegrass artists may, some day, again help to preserve a style of country music that no longer has a home elsewhere.

Great effort, wonderful talent, and intriguing possibilities make this a top-notch CD.

Mountain West Music 2002