CALIFORNIA BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION REVIEW
CALIFORNIA BLUEGRASS ASSOCIATION REVIEW
I’m Torn (Lonesome Day Records)Randy Kohrs has been a featured resonator guitar player on many bluegrass and country records and most recently has been part of Dolly Parton’s backup touring band. His dobro playing has a soulful, bluesy vocal quality and it blends seamlessly with the sound of the other instruments and supports wonderful vocals on many recent albums. In this recording, Randy has been able to focus on putting together songs and instrumental settings that show his artistic heart and soul. Since Randy is primarily an instrumentalist, it’s no surprise that the instrumental mix is vivid and strong. The pulse is propelled by the Pat Wages’ or Scott Vestal’s banjo playing and Cody Kilby’s strong rhythm guitar and sparkling leads and fills. Josh Williams plays mandolin and Randy’s wife, Shaunna, sings and adds fiddle to the band sound. Most of the songs were written by Randy and have reflections on relationships and choices in life. Several are the traditional bluegrass of themes of family and home: “Take Me Back” is the old home place and “Fifty Good Years” is a lament on the loss of a lifetime love. “Handmade Nails and Homemade Love” is a triumph of a family’s home over the powers that put highways through rural farms. “I See How You Are” puts Randy’s dobro playing to the forefront as he spins the tale of a lover’s departure. Dolly Parton sings a duet with Randy on “It Looked Good On Paper,” a classic song of a love ending in the coldness of a courtroom. Randy’s voice has the edge of experience on the hard-driving songs combined with an engaging tenderness on the softer ballads. As Randy states in the liner notes, “I wanted listeners to know this CD is really everything I am.” It’s a stellar combination of powerful heartfelt vocals, pulsating rhythms in the bluegrass tradition and well worth seeking out for your CD player.
