RON BLOCK
Faraway Land (Rounder)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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While I don't share their religious convictions, I've always had a certain degree of respect and affection for many gospel performers and their ability to reach me with both the quality of their musicality and the sincerity of their conviction. The problem is, I typically have to reach back in time to find the best of those performances. The material marketed as "contemporary Christian" tends to fail on both the musical and sincerity scales for me, more often than not.

Ron Block, best known as the guitarist for Alison Krauss & Union Station, has recorded an album of original gospel tunes that is as musically strong as anything put out by his primary group (in no small part because all of them, including Krauss, make appearances on the album) but manages to give very clear testimony of his strong Christian faith without coming off as forced or sanctimonious. If you happen to share his convictions, you'll doubtless find comfort and affirmation in his words. If you don't, well, he's a terrific singer and picker, and he's surrounded by some of the very best in contemporary bluegrass. Along with his Union Station bandmates, he gets support from Chris Thile and Sara and Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek. It's a super star assembly of players behind a leader who really cares about what he's singing about. You can't ask for much more than that, and the music delivers everything the lineup promises.

Track List:

Faraway Land * He's Holding On To Me * Your Heart Has Found A Home * Searching... * Is It Any Wonder? * Higher Than Man * Another Life I'm Living On * In The Morning Light * Set Your Children Free * Donal's Lullaby * In Memory Of Steve * Let Me Be You

© 2001 - Shaun Dale