Hot Rize - When I'm Free (2014)

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Hot Rize - When I'm Free (2014)

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Hot Rize is one of the most influential and pioneering bluegrass bands of the last 35 years. In 1978, Hot Rize began conjuring up their addicting brand of Colorado bluegrass that honors the traditional while embracing their own influences of blues, country, and celtic music. They have influenced a wide range of popular artists such as Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers, Steve Martin, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Dierks Bentley. The group disbanded in 1990 to pursue solo careers and it has been over 24 years since their last studio album and major tour together.

Hot Rize is Tim O’Brien (lead vocals and mandolin), Nick Forster (bass and vocals), Pete Wernick (banjo and vocals) and newest member Bryan Sutton (guitar and vocals) who replaced the late Charley Sawtelle after his death in 1999. Their new studio album, When I’m Free captures a group of incredibly talented veterans making some of the best music of their careers.

“Western Skies” is the perfect way for a Colorado bluegrass band to start off an album with dreamy lyrics of “when I see those western skies, sun shines on the open plains, blue sky across the mountain range” alongside by rolling banjo and effortless tight harmonies. The first single, “Blue is Falling” gets a bluesy treatment with O’Brien’s lonesome vocals and “dawg-style” mandolin while Sutton adds some nice guitar work. Pete Wernick’s instrumental “Sky Rider” highlights the impeccable instrumental prowess all four members display as a tight live band. “I am the Road” features Sutton on vocals and showcases the group’s gospel-style harmonies that are one of the most memorable tracks on the album due to its spiritual lyrics and humble arrangement. A few other standouts include the heartfelt folk tune “You Were On My Mind” and classic Hot Rize sound on “Clary Mae” that recalls some of their earlier work. When I’m Free is a solid proclamation from a band that’s been around for 35 years with plans to keep the “Radio Boogie” alive for years to come.

Review by Jason Rooks, GlideMagazine.com

One of – if not the – most anticipated albums of the past year was the return of Hot Rize after twenty-odd years with When I’m Free. Since its release in late 2014, the group has embarked upon a popular tour and received a significant amount of airplay with several singles. The album, a twelve-track collection from Ten in Hand Records, is a satisfying effort, demonstrating that the passing of two decades has done little to dull the band’s embrace of its signature sound.

When I’m Free is a largely original recording, with eight of the twelve songs written or co-written by band members. Western Skies, written by bassist Nick Forster and mandolin/fiddle man Tim O’Brien, is an appropriate opening song, recalling the band’s Colorado origins in both its lyrics and its bouncy, toe-tapping Rocky Mountain-grass sound. It’s the story of a man trying his hardest to get home to the place he loves the best, and though the setting is a little different than most bluegrass songs, it’s still a familiar sentiment. Doggone, written and sang by Forster, has a fun, bluesy feel, with all of the musicians seemingly fully engaged in what they’re doing. There’s a lot of things going on all at once, but it works. Another number that has excellent instrumentation is Pete Wernick’s instrumental Sky Rider. It’s upbeat, with a nice full sound guided by Wernick’s banjo.

O’Brien, who sings lead on the majority of the songs here, has a very distinctive voice that has made him one of the most recognizable male vocalists in bluegrass. His expressive vocals are perhaps used best in his original song Blue is Fallin’. It’s a well-written bluesy number with a dark feel, told from the perspective of a man struggling with anger and depression (the “blue” of the song’s title). His phrasing is on point in Come Away, a song that finds the singer asking a woman to give their love one more try, with a pleading tone that fits the lyrics well.

The album closer, Clary Mae, probably comes the closest to what might be called the “classic” Hot Rize sound (think Nellie Kane). An enjoyable song from the pens of O’Brien and the late Harley Allen, it has an easygoing vibe as it shares the story of a young man asking the one he loves to run away with him despite her parents’ misgivings about the relationship. After listening to it a few times, I realized I’d heard it somewhere else previously – David Parmley cut it in 1998 (under the title Claire May), with a more country feel.

British guitarist Mark Knopfler’s I Never Met a One Like You, a sweet love song, has a pleasant, light sound, similar to something O’Brien might have recorded on one of his solo projects. It is one of two covers on the album, with the other being Los Lobos’ Burn it Down, which has a harsher sound than much of the rest of the album and lead vocals from Forster. There are also two new arrangements of traditional songs – the loping, lonesome A Cowboy’s Life, and the excellent, Celtic-flavored instrumental Glory in the Meeting House. The latter features some instrument swapping, as well, with Forster picking up the mandolin and guitarist Bryan Sutton (whose work throughout the album is, as always, tasteful and solid) playing clawhammer banjo.

Though Hot Rize never truly left the bluegrass scene, with a number of mini-tours and reunion concerts over the years, When I’m Free is their first all-new recording since 1990’s Take it Home. I’m sure that after hearing this record, fans both old and new are hoping they don’t wait quite as long for their next album.

Review by John Curtis Goad, BluegrassToday.com

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Hot Rize - When I'm Free (2014)

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Hot Rize - When I'm Free (2014)

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Hot Rize - When I'm Free (2014)

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