Dailey and Vincent

01.29.2008 -- Review by: C. Eric Banister

Pre-bluegrass music through the early era of country music is decorated with the harmonies of duets such as the Delmore Brothers, the Bailes Brothers and the Louvin Brothers. But as will happen, death has separated many of these great, influential duets. In the context of bluegrass, Bill Monroe’s roots were firmly planted in the brother act with Charlie, until ambition and rivalry had their fateful way and brought us to the music we know as bluegrass. The convention was continued in bluegrass with the Stanley Brothers, Jim and Jesse and the Osborne Brothers, to name just a few of the better known.

As these duets too have been altered by death and retirement, Jaime Dailey and Darrin Vincent, while not brothers by birth, hope to carry on the tradition put in place by these great duets.

Jaime Dailey, who gained recognition for his outstanding nearly 10-year stint as the lead vocalist for Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and Darrin Vincent, known for his production work with Nothin’ Fancy and sister Rhonda as well as guitarist for Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder, first came together to record “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” for a Christmas compilation. The striking harmonies float above the traditional brother duet instrumentation of guitar and mandolin and piqued the interest of fans around the country.

The result of the duos’ success with that song leads to their debut self-titled album.

Coming from such traditional backgrounds there should be no doubt in the kind of bluegrass one will experience on the disc.  If any doubt were to be present before the first listen, the rollicking banjo kick-off to “Sweet Carrie,” a vintage sounding, full-force bluegrass tune will quickly remove it. “Sweet Carrie” has the classic theme of love carrying the man through the day of tough work, in this case as a steel driver working to lay new track through a mountain.

One of the most talked about tracks on the album is “More Than a Name On A Wall,” a top ten hit for the Statler Brothers. Dailey & Vincent treat the material with respect giving the song a current feel and adding a thoughtfulness many will be able to relate to in this time of war.

Vincent takes the lead vocal duties on “Cumberland River,” which shares the same theme as the lead track before Dailey picks up again with “River of Time,” a classic sounding song of lost love.

“By The Mark” is the first gospel song of four on the project. Done in classic mandolin-guitar style, Dailey & Vincent put their tight two-part harmony front and center delivering a fantastic reading of the Gillian Welch/David Rawlings song.

“Poor Boy Workin’ Blues” fires up the classic banjo-fueled bluegrass sound with an unfortunately timeless message of struggling to make ends meet. It is perhaps the ability to relate this universal theme with present circumstances that lend a sense of nostalgia to “Take Me Back (And Leave Me There)” as the group longs for a way to get back to a simpler time in life.

“My Savior Walks With Me Today” is another mandolin-guitar arrangement where Vincent takes the lead as Dailey provides tight soaring harmony.

“Don’t You Call My Name” is mandolin propelled showcase for mandolin player Jeff Parker, who adds the third harmony throughout the album, before the group revisits the Jimmy Fortune (who wrote “More Than A Name") catalog slowing things down with the gospel number “I Believe,” a creed of sorts that exhibits the strong faith of the band’s namesakes.

“Music of the Mountains” is an old-time sounding duet returning again to the two-part harmony of the brother duets while telling a story of nostalgia that never sinks to pandering. “Place On Calvary” tops off the album with a classic four-part gospel number featuring the bass vocal of banjo player Joe Dean.

While it is Dailey & Vincent who are placed on the marquee, the band is exceptional and the whole unit acts as one rather than hired guns. Because the fiddle spot was yet to be filled at the time of recording, the fiddle duties on the album were handled by seasoned pros Andy Leftwich and Stuart Duncan, while session ace Bryan Sutton and Kentucky Thunder guitarist Cody Kilby added occasional guitar support. Joe Dean, although the youngest and least experienced member of the band, deserves an MVP award for the presence and urgency of his banjo picking that drives the classic sound of the tunes.

Even before releasing this album, Dailey & Vincent had caused a great deal of buzz in the bluegrass community and expectations were high. It is fantastic to pick up a project that not only delivers, but exceeds expectations by producing an album that at once honors three traditions of bluegrass - hard-driving, banjo propelled songs, gospel numbers and classic sounding mandolin-guitar duets - and manages to push the music further leaving no doubt that the end result will hopefully be many years of success for the duo.

Eric Banister has been published in Bluegrass Unlimited, Country Standard Time, Blue Suede News and Maverick.  He is currently working with legendary pedal steel guitarist Bud Isaacs on his autobiography.

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