Northland Ramblers

Various
North To Ontario 2010
Coot



Canada doesn't immediately come to mind when one thinks of bluegrass, but Canada is home to many critically acclaimed bluegrass bands. And there's apparently enough of them to make not one, but two albums of bluegrass just from Ontario. North to Ontario 2010 is the second in Coot's series of bluegrass albums. Another remarkable thing is that all of the songs on this album are originals, a bit of a rarity in bluegrass where the masters of the genres are widely covered. Only a few bands here are previously established (The Laws, The C-Denny Band), making lots of room for lesser known bands. Of course, bluegrass has it's own cliches, like songs about cheatin' (Winterline's “Two Times Too Many”), songs about trains (C-Denny's “Devil's Train”) and the ubiquitous gospel tracks. When a band steps out of convention though, things get interesting. The lead off track from Randy Morrison and the Flatt River Band, called “Good Old Bluegrass Fun” has the hallmarks of a great children's folk song to it. Lazy John's “Prisoner's Waltz” is a smart-aleck classic country style tune about a father always in and out of jail. Northland Ramblers take on a very Canadian topic of the “Highway of Heroes”, and pay tribute to Canada's armed forces in the process. This is a good sampling of what's going on in Canadian bluegrass and a great way for some lesser known bands to get exposure.

By Steve Marlow
Sep 9, 2010
- !Earshot Magazine