Mule to Ride

Positive Friction Roots-rockers Donna the Buffalo count both Bob Marley and Ralph Stanley as major influences. It's a tribute to the band's musicianship and to the songwriting talents of Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear that they are able to blend such disparate styles into a cohesive whole. On "Yonder...	Rockin' in the Weary Land	Silverlined Embodying the culmination of two decades of collaboration between founding members Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear, Donna The Buffalo's 2008 album builds on the band's signature sound - a bedrock of traditional mountain music infused with elements of Cajun, rock, folk, reggae and cou...	Life's a Ride	Wait Til Spring
Donna the Buffalo - The Purple One	Raising Sand Perhaps only the fantasy duo of King Kong and Bambi could be a more bizarre pairing than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet on Raising Sand, their haunting and brilliant collaboration, the Led Zeppelin screamer and Nashville's most hypnotic song whisperer seem made for each othe...	Trouble in Mind On his new album, Trouble In Mind, the 32 year-old Carll navigates his way through both stormy weather and calm, sun-drenched waters with ease, emerging with songs that melt even the hardest heart in town. Their impact is heightened by the fact that they're songs born of both im...	Washington Square Serenade (DIG) The title and opening songs of Washington Square Serenade are as much a celebration of New York City--Steve Earle's newly adopted home--as his breakthrough Guitar Town was an evocation of his previous home in Nashville. In fact, the opening "Tennessee Blues," with its acoustic gu...	All the Roadrunning Over the last seven years, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris quietly recorded an album by stealing "a few precious hours of studio time here and there," as the ex-Dire Straits singer/guitarist puts it. Good thing they kept it largely under wraps--expectations would have pushed thr...

A strong, surprising, solid bluegrass album
Can't say as I've been much of a fan of fiddler Tara Nevin's Dead-ish stoner-billy band, Donna The Buffalo, but this solo album is rock solid from beginning to end. It's heavy on the traditional bluegrass for the first half, and then she starts sneaking in some great country tunes, most of which she wrote herself. Guest include Ralph Stanley (of course), Mike Seeger, Don Rigsby, and some soulful vocals by Jim Miller, her bandmate from Donna The Buffalo. Nice record! Recommended.

Great blend of bluegrass and old-time with modern touches
Tara Nevins is a brilliant fiddler who also has a lovely singing voice. The only regret I have is that she only uses it on five songs, more often relying on husband Jim Miller for vocals. However, this is but a minor point. Jim is a fine singer, and the musicianship from all concerned is abolutely semsational. You couldn't fall asleep listening to this.The album is full of contrasts, not just with different voices, but some great instrumentals and a variety of tempos and moods, but generally an upbeat, energetic album which will provide new delights with every listen. To make it even greater value, there are twenty tracks (rare for an album of new recordings) with a running time of about an hour. The quantity in no way dilutes the quality, which never drops.This is a brilliant album from Tara, who is also (with her husband) a member of Donna the Buffalo.

better wakeup than a triple expresso!!!
At the Telluride Festival last month, I was fortunate to hear Tara and her husband, Jim Miller (both members of the jam band DONNA THE BUFFALO), Dirk Powell, and Tim O'Brien, perform/jam at an Old Time workshop. From the front row I heard these purveyors of Traditional Music. Talk about ear candy!! I thought I'd died and gone the great hearafter. I'd known about Dirk and Tim previously, but not about Tara and Jim. Now it's time everyone does. It seems that this electric rock band DONNA THEBUFFALO is filled with OLD TIME musicians! After the workshop was over, I hastened yonder to the festival's cd tent, and quickly purchased Tara's cd and one by Jim Miller that they only sell at their concerts, called Herd I'm Drinkin' which I would characterize as the one Gram Parsons always wanted to make, but didn't live long enough to. On Tara's disc, she bows some great fiddle strings, whilst Jim does most of the vocals. There are many songs on this disc that will inspire the lame to dance, the crippled to rise up and grab a partner, and the blind to see the light. This folks, is real down home music, the stuff that runs in all our veins, the kind that is about pure spirit and wholesome energy that will change your life. and go see DONNA THE BUFFALO next time they are in your area, so you can feel the charge they give, and buy Jim's disc while you're there.

Friends enjoying themselves playing old-time music
This CD is a revelation -- it's a side of Tara Nevins that doesn't really come through in her excellent Donna the Buffalo work. It's a communal effort, with Tara simply joining the ensemble on a number of tracks. On others, her rip-roaring fiddle playing and beautiful, haunting singing are simply magnificent. It's a more than generous amount of music, and the most captivating CD I've listened to in a very long time.

Great bluegrass/old-time work
This is one of the best bluegrass/old-time cd's I've heard in a long, long time. It gets played over and over again. There are three songs that have excessive drums (in my opinion out of place for this type of music), but everything else is truly outstanding.Tara's fiddle work is absolutely captivating. It's the kind of music that is easy to get completely immersed in.Highly recommended.