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James Alan Shelton - Road To Coeburn

(Copper Creek CCCD-0154) 1997

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James' debut 'solo' instrumental guitar album for Copper Creek was recorded at a session at the Classic Studio in Bristol, TN on 12th March 1997.

The CD includes two originals by James, with the title cut Road To Coeburn being named after the road leading to Ralph's homeplace, and Tom's Creek a catchy flat-picked affair with guitar/mandolin/fiddle breaks. Both are also featured on James' 'Clinch Mountain Guitar' DVD, with notation/tab and where James gives a detailed breakdown / demonstration of how to play them. Indeed the album also garnered it's own tab/songbook issued by Mel Bay, so it must have generated some interest amongst the bluegrass guitar community in the late '90s.

Other tracks include Ralph's Five String Drag, where Steve Sparkman's banjo work is given equal prominence. This is another of Ralph's lesser known instrumentals, which is simple but catchy, and great fun to play. Several other tracks are in familiar Stanley territory, but the two Bill Monroe numbers (Ashland Breakdown and Goin' Up Caney) and standards like Angeline The Baker and Carter Family's My Dixie Darling work well given the 'stanley-esque' treatment. The final cut, is a finger-picked tune from Flatt & Scruggs 1968 'The Story Of Bonnie & Clyde' LP.

Original copies of this one are now hard to find but fortunately James reissued it on CD-R together with Guitar Tracks from 1999, as The Copper Creek Sessions in 2012.

• James Alan Shelton: lead guitar
• Ben Isaacs: bass
• James Price: fiddle
• John Rigsby: mandolin (a)
• Steve Sparkman: banjo
• Ralph II Stanley: guitar
• Adam Steffey: mandolin (b)

NB: (a) John Rigsby plays mandolin on tracks (1 - 13) except (2) and (5). (b) Adam Steffey plays mandolin on tracks (2) and (5)