From the first notes of Josh Smith's ringing banjo on "The Lonesome Cry of the Whippoorwill," it's clear that the listener is in for a treat: David Davis and the Warrior River Boys know how to play it high and lonesome. If the banjo doesn't put the listener in the mood for old-time bluegrass, Davis' high-breaking vocals will. The rest of the band, guitarist Jeff Griffy, bassist Marty Hays, and fiddler Owen Saunders, lend nice vocal support and puts lots of soul into the instrumental work. There are good story songs like "In the Shade of the Big Buffalo" and "I Haven't Seen Mary in Years," and a fine take on
Roy Acuff's "Freight Train Blues." The band also ties its sympathies to the working class on "Today's the Day I Get My Gold Watch and Chain," a song that paints a devastating picture of the wage employee who fills the boss' coffers. Hays handles the lead vocals aptly on "Leavin' Tennessee" and "It's Just an Old Body," and adds tenor vocals on the last cut, "For a Few Dollars More" (another fine story song). If there's an underlying current to David Davis and the Warrior River Boys debut, it's a traditional truism: one shouldn't spend one's life in pursuit of money and other false dreams. But this isn't an obvious message. David Davis and the boys are much more interested in making good music and, as a result, have cut a solid album sure to please traditional bluegrass fans. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.