While country music has seemingly always frowned upon band members creating side-projects or even doing solo albums (so as to not confuse the audience), Bluegrass music has a rich history of doing just the opposite and Brandon Rickman’s debut solo record is one such occurrence.  As the latest voice of the award-winning Lonesome River Band, Rickman is known to bluegrass audiences everywhere for not only his stellar textured vocals but for his incredible guitar pickin’.   On “Young Man, Old Soul” Brandon has co-written all but two of the tracks and this album, even more so than the latest Lonesome River Band album (click to read review), showcases a stellar force in the bluegrass/roots music world.  In fact, throughout this record Brandon Rickman recalls a younger Marty Raybon or Ricky Skaggs with a voice that’s deeper but as rich as either of those two great tenors. 

“Here Comes That Feeling Again” tells a great story over the rootsy acoustic instrumentation while “Rain & Snow” showcases both Rickman’s guitar abilities and his harmony vocalist/fiddlin’ friend Jenee’ Fleenor’s immense fiddle playing abilities.  In fact vocally, I thought, without a dobut, that Miss Fleenor was Sonya Isaacs.  “What I Know Now” (listen now) is the kind of song that used to be played all over country radio and in a just world, this stark song, played solo by Rickman and his guitar, would get a fair shake at rising up the charts right now.  But alas it’s not a just world so instead, we get to listen to it from time to time on our iPods or CDs. “Wide Spot In The Road” is one just two songs on the record that features drums and while the song is completely still an acoustic song, it really feels like it could fit right in with modern country radio, if not by Rickman than by some contemporary singer like Josh Turner. 

Written with Kevin Denney, “So Long 20’s” is an interesting song that feels like a softer, more leisure “My Next 30 Years” but instead of being hook-y, “So Long 20’s” feels like you’re listening to an intimate conversation or thoughts of Rickman.  This is the kind of song you’d hear at a Nashville songwriter’s night (so is “What I Know Now”).  It’s the same feeling I get while listening to “Dime Store Rings,” a song Brandon Rickman wrote with Charley Stefl and first appeared on the Lonesome River Band's "No Turning Back" earlier this year..    These are all beautifully written and performed songs and prove that a song doesn’t need rock band productions to get a story across the ears.  In fact, without all that bombast, one is able to truly listen to the lyrics.   “I Take The Backroads” talks about the loss of small towns but unlike many of the mainstream country records, this one has a heart.  I can picture Craig Morgan picking up this one and placing it on his next record as it’s something that’d fit him like a glove and while it’s a very good song, it feels a bit out of place here. 

Like all bluegrass albums, “Young Man, Old Soul” features some gospel tunes, most notably the Carter Stanley classic “Let Me Walk Lord.”  That song, coupled with “Always Have, Always Will and “Wearin’ Her Knees Out Over Me” root this album in God and family with the latter track really showcasing how much our mothers love us, even if they may not like us at times.  “Young Man, Old Soul” is an amazing piece of acoustic music and it’s easy to see how Bluegrass fans get excited about Brandon Rickman as he has crafted, along with co-producer Jimmy Metts, a fine piece of music that stands out as one of the best releases of 2009.

You can support Brandon Rickman by purchasing this album at iTunes | Amazon.