Search - Beth Stevens :: Strong Enough

Personalized bluegrass delivers all the goods with punch, dr

Joseph Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 11/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Establishing herself as a guitarist, banjo-player and vocalist with The Stevens Family (and then in The Stevens Sisters, a duo with her younger sister April), Beth Stevens is now poised to present her own band's sounds that definitely packs an emotional wallop. The band calls itself "Edge" to represent their genre-bending influences from country to bluegrass and gospel to blues. Half of the songs on "Strong Enough" were written by members of the Stevens family, and they are presented in fine fashion with her bandmates Douglas Stevens (her father) on guitar, Gary Wayne Laws on bass and Matt Leadbetter on Dobro. Guests on this project include Steve Thomas, Jesse Cobb, Dale Ann Bradley, Shelton Feazell, Steve Gulley, and Scott Vestal. "Demons and Angels," Beth's vocal duet with Steve Gulley (Grasstowne), speaks to the voices of good and evil on each shoulder when trying to deal with alcoholism. In two other vocal highlights of the album, IBMA female vocalist of the year Dale Ann Bradley harmonizes on "If I Knew Then What I Know Now" and "Echoes of Love." The title cut also makes reference to demons -- those encountered along the rough, rocky road of addiction. Beth's slow and emotional delivery (while also harmonizing with herself) provides a provocative setting and tone for the message. The CD closes with Dixie & Tom T. Hall's "The Filly and the Farm," an up-tempo story that infuses that good old bluegrass spirit into Steven's musical platform. While this CD gives the impression that she may have a slight preference for slower, introspective songs, Beth's found a personalized way to successfully deliver all the goods with punch, drive, and certainly 'edge.' (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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