The Soundtrack for Cardio Workout – The Doors –New Age Nancy Shoop-Wu for Yoga
So last night the soundtrack for my evening workout came from two sources. The first part of my workout was a 15 minute plus dance-cardio workout. The soundtrack was a portion of a playlist of music from The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and The Who.
The workout only lasted through the first three songs. All three were from The Doors. The first two “Who Do You Love?” and “Break on Through” were from their album Absolutely Live. Several years ago I wrote a post ranking my favorite live albums. You can read that post here
The second half of my workout was a yoga routine It was actually just a shortened version of the routine that I usually do. The soundtrack of that portion of my workout was Rainbow Road from Nancy Shoop-Wu. Back when I first listened to and enjoyed Rainbow Road I wrote a post about Nancy Shoop-Wu and the album.
Rainbow Road – Nancy Shoop – Wu
Rainbow Road the second release from violinist Nancy Shoop-Wu has been one of the various albums that I have used as the soundtrack for my morning workouts and meditations over the last few months. And it has been one of my favorites!
About Nancy Shoop-Wu
Nancy Shoop-Wu’s music is a wonderful blend ofi New Age , Hawaiian and classical music. Shoop-Wu started her musical journey at the age of nine in her home state of Connecticut. She came from a musical family. Her father played the trumpet and her mother the piano. She became determined to dedicate her life to music when her father passed away when she was nine years old. Read More
The Video
HEre is the video for “Rainbow Road” Enjoy as for me I’m going to start thinking about what music I will be using as the soundtrack of any yoga or workout tonight!
Connecting All My Audio Equipment Leads to New Music Goals
I mentioned in the last post that I’ve been listening to a lot of music from my music library instead of new music. One of the reasons I’m doing that is I now have my electronic equipment situated so I can play music from just about every media that I have. I now have connected to my receiver the following: an Ion turntable for my vinyl, a five disc CD player, my iPod and a small cassette tape player.
The receiver has three playback ports. The ports are a turntable port, a tape player port and CD/auxiliary port. Initially, I connected the turntable to the turntable port and the sound was too loud and horrible. When I connected it to the CD port it was fine.
Now I had four playback devices and only two ports. The solution was two by a four pack of these RCA plugs.
Now I know It seems like a lot of trouble to go through when I can just listen to almost everything on Spotify. But in my opinion there is just something special about dropping a needle onto a vinyl record. I guess that may be because it sounds better, but I think it’s just because it brings back fond memories.
While CDs don’t bring back as many memories as vinyl records there is still something about holding the jewel case maybe reading the liner notes doing that beats just plain digital recordings.
Now cassettes, I can probably take or leave but there are some albums that I have in cassette that I’m not going to get on CD and may not even be on Spotify. I’m thinking particularly of two early Chris Wall albums.
What These Connections Mean For 2019…..
Ok so now I have the ability to listen to my music library using the media that I first obtained the album on! So what does that mean for me and this blog going forward? One thing that I want to do this year is to listen more often to music from my music library.
Over the last few years I’ve spent so much time discovering new music that I have lost touch with the music I have loved in the past. Now I’m not saying that I want to live in the past, just that I want to visit more often!
So maybe what I’ll do is bring back Flashback Friday. When I first started to blog on Fridays I would put on a few old albums listen to them and then write about the artist and album. Yeah, I think that’s something I want to do again!!
Music Goals for 2019
So here are some music goals for 2019…..
1. Increase the amount I listen to music from my music library. Use music from my music library for the soundtrack of my workouts and yoga. Re-institute Flashback Fridays to listen and write about old favorites!
2. Continue to search out and listen to new music. I will continue to scour the bottom half of various music charts to find new artists!!
3. Make new music the soundtrack for my runs. Typically, the soundtracks of my runs are from the progressive rock, blues or bluegrass genres.
4.Make sure a jazz or new age album is playing in the background while I’m reading. A New Age album will always be the soundtrack of my yoga workouts.
So now I need to go and listen to some music. Hmmm it’s Friday and I see many albums from my vinyl collection. It’s time for Flashback Friday …..what shall I listen to???????
P.S. When I went to take the picture of my audio equipment I realized I forgot to mention that I also have my Sirius/XMRadio connected to the system too! Only I have to unplug something so I will probably just let it play by itself!!
So for the last couple of weeks I’ve had Sean Chambers second album Humble Spirits on the mp3 player and have enjoyed it. Sean is a Florida bluesman in the mold of Stevie Ray Vaughan, i.e. blues with a rock edge. Humble Spirits, was produced by Bud Snyder (The Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule), and featured featured such special guests as Bernard Allison, Frankie and Dan Toler (The Allman Brothers), Bobby T. Torello (Johnny Winter) and Greg Allman band alumnus Bruce Waibel.
Sean has been ranked in the Top 50 blues rock guitarists by Britain’s “Guitarist Magazine” and he can really play! I feel that his guitar playing carries his ok vocals on the album!
Anyway there are a lot of decent songs on the album and it’s certainly worth several listens and will probably stay on the player for a while!
Sean Chambers Release Ten Til Midnight
Today I listened to his current release Ten Til Midnight. I was only able to listen to a few of the tracks but what I heard sounded pretty good. If it cools off tomorrow the album will probably be playing when I run!
Here’s what it says on Sean’s website about the album:
On Ten ‘Til Midnight co-producer Tim Blair wanted to go for a live sound similar to their incendiary concert shows; so most of the tracks were recorded with few overdubs. They feature Chambers on guitar and vocals, and his regular touring band: Tim Blair on bass and Paul Broderick on drums. Special guests includes Ben Crider on Hammond B-3 organ, Jack Henriquez on piano, Gary Keith on harmonica, and Robin Bouie and Clarence L. Stevenson on backing vocals.
Here’s what Blogcritics says about Ten ‘Til Midnight:
Ten Til Midnight is a high-energy, pedal-to-the-metal, blues rock album that will leave you plastered against your seatback. Remember that speaker ad a few years back showing the guy sitting in a chair in front of his speakers, his hair blowing back? Yeah! That’s it, that’s the one. And that’s this CD, too. Ten cuts, 41 minutes of rockin’ blues.
So if you like Stevie Ray, Corey Stevens and other blues rock guitarists check out Sean!
Here’s “In the Winter Time” from Ten ‘Til Midnight
.So when I listened to “St. Vincent De Paul.” the first track on Ed Romanoff‘s self-titled debut album for the second time on my four mile run tonight, it reminded me of Mary Gauthier‘s album The Foundling. Wait you listened to the song twice! I thought this album must be very short! But, no the run was really long! The ten track album clocks in at about 40 minutes, at which point, I was still a little way from my finish and was struggling along at about 11 minute per mile pace
Now back to the music! There’s a reason that the song reminded me about Gauthier’s album. Well, that’s because it appeared on Mary Gauthier’s album The Foundling. Ed wrote the song after he accompanied Mary to the orphanage where Mary had been left on the day she was born! After the trip, they became good friends, subsequently, Ed at Mary’s request joined her on the road as a sideman, writing partner, and later in taking a DNA test. Mary wanted to learn more about her biological past, but Ed got the shock! In taking the test, Ed found the father he grew up with was not his biological father. “Sometimes you write a song and sometimes it writes you back,” he says.
About Ed Romanoff
Now this a great collection of well-crafted songs about life, the good and the bad. It’s not really a pick me up album. However, I think, the album was a good pick for today’s run. What did I say the other night? ” misery loves company” Well, I needed the company tonight because my left leg was giving me misery! But because I was going so slow, I was able to focus on the music rather than the pain in my leg and there was alot to pay attention to:
There’s a song about unrequited love “Breakfast for one on the 5th of July” , one about the disappearance of a man on a winter’s day “Lady Luck”, and the random shooting of a man and woman necking in a car, “Yellow Rose”. He made it, she didn’t. See not much to put you in a good mood there, is there.
“I Must Have Done Something Right” is the one somewhat humorous song on the album. In the song a guy recalls all the terrible things he’s done to his best friend. However, somehow the friend remains loyal through it all. All included: that night I slept with your sister/You know I meant to keep that a secret”
The album has been on all the charts. It’s currently No 12 on the Euro-Americana Chart and No 22 on the FAR Chart. In addition, Ed was the 1st place winner in the lyrics category of the 2011 USA Songwriting Competition. “Breakfast for One on the 5th of July” was the winning song.
Crit Harmon produced the album. Harmon has worked with: Martin Sexton, Lori McKenna, and Mary Gauthier. Josh Ritter, Tift Merritt, Meg Hutchinson, and Mary Gauthier provide harmony vocals on the album!
So once again the run was tough, really the pits, but the music was great! Here’s a performance of the award winning “Breakfast for One on the 5th of July”
Yesterday I posted that two albums have stood out in my music rotation over the last few weeks. The first one was Hard Times the latest release from jazz saxophonist Vincent Herring. The second one is Spirit to the Sea from the Colorado Indie-Americana string band Trout Steak Revival.
I first encountered the music of Trout Steak Revival back in 2012 , when I listened to their albumFlight. After listening to that album I knew that this was a band that was going places. And they did!
About Trout Steak Revival
In 2014 they won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition. They also won an Emmy Award for a soundtrack they contributed to a Rocky Mountain PBS web documentary. they have also collaborated with school children in mentoring programs in Denver and Steamboat Springs. Their music is featured on Bank of Colorado’s radio and
Trout Steak Revival’s music blends the sounds of folk, indie, bluegrass, and roots into their own style of Americana. The band members include: Casey Houlihan – Bass, Steve Foltz – Mandolin/Guitar, Will Koster – Dobro/Guitar, Bevin Foley- Fiddle and Travis McNamara – Banjo.
I love a band where the members are all masters of their respective instruments. That is certainly the case with the members of Trout Steak Revival! And while each picker is great there are two that make this album special for me and they are: Will Koster whose dobro sounds great throughout the album, and Bevin Foley’s fiddle which really makes some of the tracks soar!
Now many times when I listen to bluegrass albums I kinds cringe when I hear the vocals. There are some voices out there that are just too twangy for me. That is NOT the case with Trout Steak Revival, I love the vocals on Spirit to the Sea. On Spirit to the Sea, like their previous releases all five band members contribute unique lyrics, lead vocals and harmonies. And to my ears they all sound fantastic.
Bottom Line:
Spirit to the Sea is a 4.25 star out of 5 album for me. Five stars for the picking, four stars for the lyrics and four stars for the vocals and four stars for the overall upbeat feel of the album. Average them together and you get 4.25 stars. Ok so every time I start to pick out tracks that I like on an album, I usually find myself saying I like this one and this one and pretty soon it’s the whole album. So I ‘ll just say check it out!
Final Thoughts
I started this two-part post by writing about my eclectic taste in music. I said that I didn’t think there were many folks out there who like both bluegrass and jazz. So what connects the two genres of music for me. It’s like I wrote earlier listening to musicians who are masters of their respective instruments. In the case of Vincent Herring’s Hard Timesit’s listening to the musical artistry of Vincent Herring, Cyrus Chestnut and Russell Malone. Masters of the saxophone, piano and guitar respectively.
On Spirit to the Sea it’s listening to great mandolin and guitar from Steve Foltz , dobro from Will Koster, Bevin Foley’s fiddle and Travis McNamara’s banjo.
The big difference between the two genres for me is when I listen to them. I mainly listen to jazz while I’m reading and bluegrass when I’m in the car or when I’m up moving around and doing something. How is it with you???
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Trout Steak Revival
Tom Russell’s release Folk Hotel has been in my music rotation for a week or so now, and I like the album more and more each time I listen to it. There are few songwriters whose songs send me to Wikipedia to look up references the way Tom’s does. In fact, I was sent scurrying on the first track: “Up in the Old Hotel.”
The first reference I chased was Joseph Mitchell, whose ghost wanders the halls of Tom’s Folk Hotel. Here’s what I found:
Joseph Mitchell and Up in the Old Hotel
(July 27, 1908 – May 24, 1996) was an American writer best known for his work in The New Yorker. He wrote careful portraits of eccentrics and people on the fringes of society, especially in and around New York City. His book Up in the Old Hotel collects the best of his writing for The New Yorker. Mitchell’s last book was Joe Gould’s Secret (1964). From 1964 until his death in 1996, Mitchell went to work at his office daily, but never published anything significant again. Read More
Dylan Thomas and the Hotel Chelsea
The second reference in the song points to the death of poet Dylan Thomas and his infamous final days:
On 3 November 1953, Thomas spent the day drinking in New York. He returned to the Hotel Chelsea declaring, “I’ve had 18 straight whiskies. I think that’s the record!” Later that week, he fell gravely ill and was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where he died on 9 November 1953 of acute alcohol-related complications. Read More
One Song, Countless Stories
I love that about Tom Russell’s songs. One verse can send me looking up a writer I’d never heard of, while the next leads me to a poet, a painter, or some forgotten corner of American history. His songs aren’t just stories—they’re invitations to keep exploring.
I’ll have more to say about Folk Hotel in another post, but for now I’ll leave you with Tom performing “Up in the Old Hotel.”
More Tom Russell Stories
If you’d like to read more about one of my favorite songwriters, continue with:
Folk Monday: Old Friend Slaid Cleaves and Tom Russell – How Mesabi first entered my music rotation and led to plans for a special concert.
Tom Russell Live at Jammin’ Java – My memories of seeing Tom and Thad Beckman perform many of these songs live in an intimate setting.
This morning’s soundtrack for my morning yoga and meditation was one of my favorite new New Age albums. Voices from Heaven Volume II from Norwegian keyboardist Tron Syversen and wordless vocalist Runar Halonen
Every time I have used this album for meditating it has been great. That’s to be expected since the album was designed to take listeners on a deep journey into their inner self.
From TronMusic….
The Voices II music heralds a channeled arrangement on both piano and keyboard combined with voices floating on the waves of music to achieve a powerful sound healing album that creates unique frequencies that will be received in to your body. These frequencies will release your energy when the sharp and high notes are heard, stimulating a needle-energy similar to the ancient of acupuncture without needle.
Most people within the Northern-European-relaxation-healing music community consider Tron a pioneer within their community.. In addition, his music and influence seems to spread farther and farther around the globe each year. This is a result of the marketing of his recent albums internationally. Each album has quickly risen to the Top 10 on the international Top 100 Zone Music Reporter Chart..
About Voices From Heaven Vol. II
Voices from Heaven Vol. IIis composed of three lengthy tunes, each composed by the Halonen – Syvensen team. The tracks are: “My Journey to True Love”, “Rainbow Bridge” and “Hymn to the Lost Souls”
Tron Syversen provides the spacey, ambient, and floating music via piano, keyboards and occasionally synthesized percussion or strings effects. Halonen adds soaring, sailing,drone-like, mood-setting, and uplifting wordless vocalizing. Special guest vocalist Helem Edler Lorentaen joins the duo on “”Rainbow Bridge”. “Rainbow Bridge” also includes Lorentzen playing a shaman drum and Per Elias Drablos on bass.
Bottom Line: A Sixties Man Rating 4.5 out of 5.
“My goal has always been to make enjoyable music that people like to listen to.”says Tron Syverson “But I also want the music to be good for deep relaxation, meditation, sharp concentration or improved sleep. If my music helps people in their daily lives, I have accomplished more than entertainment. ..”
I say… that on Voices from Heaven Vol II Tron Syversen you have accomplished your goal!!I think the first time I used the album for a meditation soundtrack, I was going to meditate for 15 minutes. The meditation lasted 30 minutes!! The second and third times, I ended the meditation with savasana for five minutes or so…..at the end I checked my pulse it was 43 beats per minute – definitely DEEP RELAXATION!
So Check Out Voices from Heaven Vol. II! As for me I will be checking out Voices from Heaven along with Tron’s Piano Meditations! Along with previous Syversen and Halonen musical guided music collaborations. Such as, Activation of Your Inner Healing, Create the Life You Wantand The Translucent Return Journey!
“At 65 I was wondering whether a 20-minute Tabata workout could replace my normal workout. At 74 I’m wondering whether I could still survive that Tabata workout! These days my exercise routine looks a little different. Running, walking, yoga, and staying active enough to chase grandchildren have replaced most of those high-intensity workouts. But one thing hasn’t changed. Music still plays an important role in both my exercise and relaxation routines.”
A Tabata Workout Followed by the peaceful music of Nathan Speir
This morning I really did not feel like doing a full 60 minute workout. I seriously considered only doing a light yoga workout. But the\n I thought maybe a short 20 minute Tabata workout. So I created one on the workout app tha
t I use. It consisted of 8 – 20 second intervals followed by 10 second rest of the following
Jumping jacks
Squat thrusts
Sit ups
Mountain climbers
Push-ups/ squats 5 push outs 3 squats
Of course I counted how many of the exercises I did in each interval. If you had told me T the beginning of the exercise I would be doing
200 jumping jacks
64 sit-ups
64 squat thrusts
240 mountain climbers and
40 push ups
I would have said you were nuts! But that’s what I did. And although the workout according to my Fitbit burned fewer calories then I thought! It was pretty damn good workout!
I followed the workout with a 10 minute meditation and 5 minute savasana ( had to sneak in a little yoga!)
Today’s Meditation Soundtrack: Part of a Kindly Plan – Nathan Speir
The soundtrack for the meditation was a New Age album that’s been in my music rotation for a while now but I haven’t written about it yet. Big surprise I haven’t been doing a lot of writing about anything recently. So in an effort to break out of that rut,let me tell you about Nathan Speir and his album Part of a Kindly Plan.
Nathan Speir is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in southern California but was raised in Florida and Connecticut. Currently he calls Winston-Salem North Carolina home. Part of a Kindly Planis Speir’s eight studio release. His music style is eclectic and varied. He cites among his influences the music of George Winston, Keith Jarrret, Pat Metheny, Steve Roach, Harold Budd, R Carlos Nakai, Chopin and Erik Satie. His is inspired by his family, poetry, fine art, space and astronomy, the study of religion and nature.
From his Website Biography…
“I have a perpetual need to create,” explains Speir, “and making music teaches me many lessons in life. I hope that my creations enhance the ambience in the listener’s life, and in doing so, the listener holistically benefits. This kind of music lends itself to solace, relaxing, thinking and reflecting on life. Studying your inner life and identifying your personal beliefs is serious business, but I believe that serious things can bring great joy. I want the music to feel like taking a pastoral retreat, or going to space and then returning to earth, but afterwards feeling more at one with things. I feel strongly that each person needs to contribute in some way to our world. With my music I try to do my small part.” Read More
About Part of a Kindly Plan
Part of a Kindly Plan contains mostly acoustic instruments – acoustic piano, steel and nylon string acoustic guitars, wooden flute, cello, harmonica, rain-stick and singing bowls. A couple of the tunes also include a little synthesizer (primarily replicating a string section.)
In addition Speir states: “…. silence has a big part in my music and I pay a lot of attention to the space between the notes”
Some of the inspiration for Part of a Kindly Plan comes from the Thomas Hardy poem. “On a Fine Spring Morning” . The poem was written in the early 1900s and Speir has included it on the back of the album cover. Speir explains…
“At the beginning the poem asks a question: What is solace? Hardy says it is not this or exactly that, but at the end he is happy and content because he says everything is part of a benign or kindly plan that is proof that earth was made for man. I liked the sentiments expressed so I paraphrased the various lines for the name of the album and several tune titles”
You can read more about the various tunes also in his biography at his website. Here is the link.
Thoughts About Part of a Kindly Plan……
I find Part of a Kindly Plan to be a nice quiet and relaxing album. It is a nice album to use for meditation, not a perfect meditation album but damn close. One of the tracks that I’ve heard the most and have really enjoyed is track two “As We Turn” The track features an acoustic-steel string guitar blended with piano, rainstick shaker some sampled tympani and synth strings. Speir says the following about the track:
“There are lots of turns in life, and as we grow older our perspective of life changes.”
As I was driving to Walmart this morning listening to the album, I thought about what Speir had written about the use of space between the notes in his compositions. I really noticed that in practice on the tune ‘Praxis” The song mixes nylon-string guitar and Native American flute with a rhythmic drum-sound created by Speir hitting the cello fretbound with his open hand.
“The idea behind this piece”, relates Speir is that everyone should choose a discipline of some sort, seriously practice it, persevere, improve and also enjoy the journey.”
Anyway the album is, like Speir says a beautiful and varied collection of acoustic music and is well worth checking out. I think that it will be in my New Age rotation for quiet a while!! And it’s not just me who likes this album. The album was number 8 on the MusicZoneReporter.com Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart for April
Links for the Further Explorations of the Music of Nathan Speir
Nathan Speir Discography Since Part of a Kindly Plan
Searching for Nepsis (2019)
Finding a Way to Be (2020)
Polyhedric Hearts (2020)
Ambient Piano Improvs (2021)
Pilgrim (2022)
Over Earth Under Stars (2023)
Tapestries for Seasons (2023)
Ethereal Moments (EP, 2025)
Interstate X O (Single, 2025)
A Night of Poetry (2025)
Beside a Sanctuary for the Brave (Single, 2026
Looking at this list, I have to ask myself a question. Why haven’t I listened to more of Nathan Speir’s music? Since writing this original review he has released a considerable amount of music, and judging by how much I still enjoy Part of a Kindly Plan, I think I have some listening to do. Perhaps one of these albums will become the soundtrack for my next yoga session, meditation, or early morning reflection.
Daily Roots will be a recurring feature of this site. It is a a way of revisiting music, books, and ideas that first took hold decades ago — not out of nostalgia, but because some things refuse to stay in the past. This felt like the right place to begin, because Phil Ochs wrote songs that keep rewriting themselves every time history circles back on itself.
This post was originally written in 2017 during the first Trump administration but it’s even more relevant here in 2026!
Phil Ochs and “Here’s to the State of Mississippi “
As I have watched the unfolding of the events surrounding the President over the last few weeks the similarities to Trump and Nixon get stronger every day. These similarities led me to the songs of Phil Ochs. Well at least to one song “Here’s to the State of Mississippi”
Way back in the mid-60s during the height of the Civil Rights struggle many people were aghast at the actions of the people of Mississippi. Folksinger Phil Ochs responded through song and wrote the classic “Here’s to the State of Mississippi”. In the song Ochs sang….
Here’s to the state of Mississippi, For underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines, If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find. whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes, the calendar is lyin’ when it reads the present time. Oh here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of, Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!….
Updating the Song “Here’s to the State of Richard Nixon”
Fast forwarding several years and Phil needed to update the song and change Mississippi to Richard Nixon. In updating the song he added a new versus just for Tricky Dick…..
And here’s to the government of Richard Nixon In the swamp of their bureaucracy They’re always bogging down And criminals are posing As advisors to the crown And they hope that no one sees the sights And no one hears the sounds And the speeches of the president Are the ravings of a clown
Complete lyrics Here. Here’s Phil performing the song……
Hmm, seem like any government we may know??? Yep! Old Tricky Dick and Donald are like twin sons of different mothers!!
And Now – Here’s to the State of Donald Trump
While I was searching YouTube for Phil’s version of the song I can across this updated version of the song. It includes verses for Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions along with dear Donald! Enjoy!
And after 50 plus years the question remains “why do Republicans hate poor people?”
Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter, protest singer, and political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, and political commentary. He wrote about 200 songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums. Wikipedia
This post was originally posted in 2017 and has been updated in Nov 2025 with new stuff added!
The Run – 3.25 Mile Creek Loop
Today’s run was my fifth run in the month of February. That’s a good start on the year and on a pace to run on more days than a typical February. The soundtrack for the run was Tennessee Moon from Ray Cardwell.
I ran the same course today that I have run for the last two runs. It is a 3.25 mile loop that is mainly flat with a couple of small increases in elevation. Initially, I thought about running 4 miles today, but after running the first mile in the fastest time this year, I decided to shorten it to 3.25 miles. I shorten the run for two reasons. The first reason was so I wouldn’t be tired for the rest of the day! And the second because I needed to leave time to shower and eat lunch between the end of the run and babysitting granddaughter Zoe!
The run was my best runs of the year. My time was a little more than a minute faster than my time last week over the same course. I maintained a pace averaging a little under 11 minutes per mile over the first 2 plus miles. Overall, my pace for the entire run was 11:05 min/mile. The splits were 10:49 (1) 10:59 (2) 11:25 (3) and 11:17 (.25). I really slowed down over the third mile. One reason was to see if I could lower my heartbeat a little. The other was because I was going up one of those little rises in elevation! Overall it was a good run and left me feeling like I wanted to go out and do it again tomorrow! Ah, but my knees know better!
The Soundtrack – Tennessee Moon – Ray Cardwell
The soundtrack for the run was Tennessee Moon the 2017 release from singer, songwriter and bassist Ray Cardwell. When I first listened to this album the other night, I thought that it had a John Cowan, New Grass Revival vibe to it.
When I went to read about the album I discovered two reasons. The first was that New Grass Revival alum Pat Flynn produced the album and John Cowan provided tenor and harmony vocals on the album! Here’s a little about Ray from the Pinecastle Records website:
Ray honed his musical chops playing in The Cardwell family bluegrass band in the late 1970’s. In the ‘80s he spent time playing rock and reggae before moving to Nashville in the ‘90s to be a member of the bluegrass band, the New Tradition.
He returned to his home state of Missouri a few years later to raise a family while teaching vocal and instrumental ensembles. Along the way he has had experience with an eclectic mix of musical genres from bluegrass and Americana to musical theater and Motown. Now living in Nashville, TN Cardwell has returned to his musical roots while blending in his varied influences to create a style all his own.
Ray Cardwell wrote or co-wrote nine of the twelve tracks on the album. Ray says this about his music….
“I feel my music is based upon the traditional style of bluegrass and old timey music my parents raised me on, and the collection of musical experiences I’ve had in my journey through life. My songwriting is a direct reflection of new ideas balanced with the traditions of the past.
My Thoughts….
Favorite tracks include the title track “Tennessee Moon”, the opening track “His Will”, “Stop, Look and Listen” and “Sailin’ for Glory”. I must not have been struggling too badly throughout the run because I remember hearing most of the songs!
Now for me maybe the most important part of any bluegrass album is the picking and there are some good pickers on Tennessee Moon. First and foremost there;s my favorite dobro player Rob Ickes. Others include Andy Leftwich on fiddle and mandolin, Jesse McReynolds on mandolin and Scott Vestall on banjo. The producer Pat Flynn also provided some fine guitar and harmony vocals. Here’s the complete line-up…..
The Pickers and Singers
Ray Cardwell – bass, lead and harmony vocals Pat Flynn – guitar, harmony vocals Danny Roberts – mandolin Jesse McReynolds – mandolin (“Tennessee Moon”) Scott Vestal – banjo Rob Ickes – resonator guitar Andy Leftwich – fiddle, mandolin Vocals: John Cowan, Claire Lynch, Ronnie Bowman, Scott Russell, Eric Morris, Brad Reside
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Ray Cardwell
Here is a short playlist of favorite songs from Tennessee Moon.I will admit that I don’t usually like gospel but the two gospel tracks here work for me! I
Post Update
Over the last four to five years, I’ve written fewer posts than I would’ve liked — a trend I’m working to reverse! I’m also checking in on the artists and bands to see what they’ve been up to since I first wrote about them.
Since I wrote this post back in 2017, Ray Cardwell has continued to release strong, soulful bluegrass albums. His music has blended the traditional tones of the genre with a warm, rootsy vocal spirit that still carries that touch of gospel he’s always had.
Albums Since 2017:
Year
Album
2019
Stand On My Own
2020
Just a Little Rain
2025
Singing Tree
I was listening to Singing Tree tonight while editing this post — and it reminded me why Ray Cardwell stood out to me the first time I heard him. The songwriting is strong, the arrangements are warm and lively, and that soul-through-bluegrass voice remains the anchor.
This one may work its way into a Tangy Tuesday post… stay tuned.
