Tim Stafford, of the bluegrass group Blue Highway, has always been a favorite of mine, and with his latest CD, Endless Line, he has once again shown what a strong musician and singer he is. With a host of well-known bluegrass singers and musicians in his lineup, Stafford brings the nine originals plus five other songs and tunes to the listener with the different styles and sounds of bluegrass. He adds some soft acoustic music, as well.

Stafford seems to be from the old school of bluegrass, taking even his original tunes and making them sound like they may have been written many, many years ago. He also has the knack of doing this with songs by others. One that stands out as such on this CD is "Danville Girl," arranged by Stafford; it has an old feel to it, like it came out of the 1940s or so. "If I Had the Money I Would Ride That Train," is a good, old and fast number that is reminiscent of Blue Highway's sound.

Tim's guitar style is easily recognizable in that it is almost fluid in its sound. He produces this sound through flatpicking and fingerpicking in his guitar pieces: "Cold Harbor," "The Reason," "Holiday on Mission Street," "Methodist Preacher," "Obsession" and "Mamma Llama."

The lyrics to the songs have been included in the CD booklet, and this will additionally show the listener what a talent Tim has for songwriting. Seeing the words while listening to the soulful songs allows one to entrench them in their mind even deeper.

- Rambles
written by Paulette Isaacs
published 27 August 2005