CD Reviews

Ricky Skaggs and the Whites - Salt of the Earth

Label – Skaggs Family Records
Producers – Ricky Skaggs and the Whites

This great family combination has put out a great project of Country/Bluegrass that these wonderful artists have become famous for. You can always depend on Ricky Skaggs and the Whites to include some hot picking and great harmony. This project is no exception.

Janis Jon and Paul Overstreet have written a great story song, “Love Will Be Enough”, to kick off the project. This could easily be a crossover hit on Country radio. Sharon White does a great job on the Kelly Willard tune, “Homesick for Heaven”. The Whites family harmony is hard to match.

“Big Wheel”, written by legendary country songwriter, Don Gibson, is a catchy tune that gets the tempo going. Cheryl takes the lead on this song and Buck shows off some fine piano pickin’. “Salt of the Earth” is a great song and could be another crossover tune for the group. This song was written by Jim Rushing and Ronald Scaife.

Buck White takes the lead on the old song, “Wreck on the Highway”. Buck is truly a Bluegrass legend and does a great job on this song. This project has a nice mixture of new material with some classics, including the next tune, “Farther Along”. Ricky joins the Whites on this one, letting Buck do some bass singing. “Let it Shine”, written by Sharon White and James Martin Funderburk, has some great harmony work and interesting chord structure. This is my favorite cut on the project.

The old altar call song, “Near the Cross” is a nice addition to the project and features Buck. “Seed of Love” is another new, positive country song, written by David Scott Corley. This song features Ricky and should be a favorite among his fans. Buck takes another turn with the great Stuart Hamblen song, “This Old House”. One of the biggest hits in Country Music history is the next cut, “Wings of a Dove”. Ricky and the Whites stay true to the original Ferlin Husky version. What a great old song!

The final two cuts on the project are some great old hymns, “Blessed Assurance” and “The Solid Rock”. These are two of the foundation songs of the church. Thanks for including them.

If you are fans of Ricky Skaggs and the Whites, you need to get to your local shop and get this album. It really delivers. I would have liked to have heard a couple more upbeat songs with that fast picking that was a part of the early Ricky Skaggs hits. With that said, this album was great!

Song List:
Love Will Be Enough
Homesick For Heaven
Big Wheel
Salt of the Earth
Wreck on the Highway
Farther Along
Let It Shine
Near the Cross
One Seed of Love
This Old House
Wings of a Dove
Blessed Assurance
The Solid Rock