Quotes & Reviews:
"Tim Stafford was one of my favorite guitar players before he was anyone
else's favorite. If you can wear out a CD, I would have worn this
one out already. The album is amazing."
Tony Rice
Tim sounds great. It's rare these days to hear a musician that writes,
arranges, sings and plays his own music. Tim does all four with a quality
and perspective that is unsurpassed. I'm proud to call a guy like Tim
Stafford a friend. Congratulations on a great solo record, Tim!
Bryan Sutton
Tim Stafford has been a immensely talented guitarist, songwriter, arranger, singer, producer and band member/leader for many years. I have gotten to know Tim in the past few years and his stature as a person is also a benefit to anyone meeting him.
His new recording, "Endless Line" can only be further testament to Tim's
talents and compassion for music. The songs, variety and quality of this set
of music allow an insight to parts of his music that some of us have never
seen, and I am glad to get the chance to finally see.
For starters. the first three songs "Cold Harbor", "Rider on an Endless Line"
and "The Kid" are nothing short of pure musical art. Within these three
original compostions (there are 9 that Tim wrote or co-wrote here), I feel as
if I can hear the influences of Tony Rice, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot,
Marty Robbins (or Zane Grey), and more, and that's just for starters. He
allows his expanse of other influences to give him cause for more artwork
throughout the recording.
I think Tim brought a wonderful team of musicians and vocalists to illustrate
his work here. The groove and pocket created by all, especially Tim, Adam
Steffey and Jason Moore make you feel -to use an anecdote- like you're "riding in a Cadillac", and that feel comes through to the listener. You put the
driving banjo of Ron Stewart and the fiddle voice of Jim Van Cleve in the mix
and the result is a 'must have' CD for any music lover, Bluegrass... and
beyond.
Jim Hurst
Tim Stafford: Endless Line
Banjo_Bob writes: Award winning bluegrass musician Tim Stafford has finally put out a solo album and what a great album it is. Endless Line, on FGM Records (FGM 114) and was recorded by Bobby Starnes at Hog Hollow Studios in Jonesborough, TN. The flat picking of each individual string is crisp, clean and distinct. The audio quality on this album is as good as the music it contains. Each supporting instrument is also reproduced with equal quality.
The album is primarily instrumental and contains 14 tracks and all of them are a pleasure to listen to. In fact, I can't really say I have a favorite - the album is a favorite in its entirety.
Tim either wrote or co-wrote the majority of the songs on this album. His talent as an outstanding guitarist, songwriter and overall musician comes through brightly on this album.
The music covers a wide realm of styles illustrating his diverse talents. Danville Girl and If I Had The Money I would Ride That Train are true Stafford bluegrass but the album drifts into other areas of acoustic music as shown on Holiday on Mission Street that brings out a more contemporary guitar style.
Flatpicking legend Tony Rice says, "Tim Stafford was one of my favorite guitar players before he was anyone elses favorite. I have listened to this recording over and over. If you can wear out a CD, I would have worn this one out already. The album is amazing."
Ron Block wrote the liner notes and comments that Tim Stafford is one of bluegrass music's most underrated talents. I would tend to agree. I've seen Stafford perform live, at workshops and even in my home playing a $50 "Kay-Martin" that I had laying around. He could even make that junk guitar sound good. Put his instrument in his artistic hands and you've got a wonderful combination. This album is definitely at 10!
Cybergrass, May 2004
http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/CDreviews/timstafford.php3
Tim Stafford
CD: Endless Line
Label: FGM Records
Rating:
Genre: Bluegrass
Talent, Talent, Talent is written all over the sound of this album.
Tim Stafford can sing like a pro, play guitar much better than most and knows how to produce a top of the line recording. This man is so talented that it is mind boggling to listen to his creations. How can anyone have this much talent? Endless line is one outstanding Bluegrass CD release. Dang we wish all bluegrass sounded this amazing.
Endless Line is just pure down home bluegrass done right.
What a pleasure to review this release and get to listen to the songs Tim wrote and then drives em home with his all musical genius.
Endless Bluegrass Skill, (05/19/04)
Tim Stafford's name might be familiar and his music should be too: for the last ten years he's played with the band Blue Highway, which was nominated for Grammy and Dove awards this year; he spent the early part of the last decade with Alison Krauss + Union Station, and artists including Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman, and Claire Lynch have recorded his songs.
This is his debut solo album. About half the fourteen tracks are
instrumentals, which feature Stafford's confident and intelligent guitar
playing, and his composing skills as well on several tracks, including
especially "Indigo Blue," "Obsession," and "Mamma Llama." The songs with lyrics are equally interesting, including "Rider On An Endless Line," sort of a Bluegrass existentialist look back at choices made, the hard driving "If I Had the Money I W ould Ride That Train," and the quieter "Rain." Stafford is an original, creative voice in acoustic music both as a composer and an interpreter and it's good to see him step out into the spotlight.
John Cowan, Rob Ickes, Adam Steffey, and Rushad Eggleston are among the musicians who sit in.
Kerry Dexter
Tim Stafford has seemed content until now to do everything but step to the front on his own solo album. As a group member, he helped propel Alison Krauss and Union Station to Grammy-winning star status in the early 1990s, then became a founding member of Blue Highway, bringing his talents for guitar playing, singing, songwriting, arranging, and producing to the group over the course of six albums. Meanwhile, he has moonlighted as a songwriter, session musician, and producer for numerous other bluegrass musicians as well as teaching and issuing his own instructional video (Acoustic Guitar Fundamentals). He seems to have been induced to make this album by its sponsor, Flatpicking Guitar magazine (hence FGM), and even here he is intent upon sharing the spotlight. Of the seven (out of 14) tunes that have vocals, he invites guest singers in on three of them: John Cowan sings "The Kid," Keith Williams "Bad Reputation," and Robert Hale "If Only for a Day." Even on the instrumentals, he showcases others, making special mention of Rob Ickes' Dobro on "Methodist Preacher" and Rushad Eggleston's cello on "Obsession." But all this support fails to obscure the talents of the man whose name is on the cover. Unsurprisingly for a musician who has been prominent on the bluegrass scene for well over a decade, this doesn't sound like a debut album. It sounds like an assured effort from a veteran who just wants to share a few tunes and songs, mixing traditional numbers with originals steeped in tradition. Stafford is a team player, and he gets a group performance out of his backup musicians, including Adam Steffey on mandolin, Jim Van Cleve on fiddle, Jason Moore on bass, and Ron Stewart on banjo and fiddle. But the album still has an individual stamp, the confident feel of a musician who has mastered his craft.
-William Ruhlmann, All-Music Guide 40
Tim Stafford - Endless Line
By Gary Cook-www.bluegrassrules.com
After Blue Highway was formed in 1994 by Tim Stafford, bluegrass fans witnessed one of the fastest rising bands in the history of the genre. "Overnight success" is an overused term, but in this case it applied with accuracy. The group's great strength was its ability to create new contemporary songs that had bedrock and beauty, while putting their stamp on traditional numbers such as "Little Maggie" and "Midnight Storm." There was method with a purpose, and their shows had a wholeness that fans took home with them. And, of course, the vocals and picking were superb. The recipe is still the same today, so if you haven't seen Blue Highway in awhile, now is a good time to get reacquainted.
Tim Stafford is a team player, make no mistake about that. He would be the first to tell you that Blue Highway is not about him, but after listening to his first solo release, Endless Line, one realizes how big his footprint has been. Why did he record an album at this point in his career?
"I guess the answer is that I wanted to do a solo project long before I played professionally with any group. For over 20 years, I had tunes in mind. The list wasn't the same then as it is now, but the project idea has never been too far in the back of my head. Friends and associates would always ask when I was going to do a solo record and I said, 'Well, I'd like to someday.' I figured I'd go ahead and do it while I still could! None of us are getting any younger.
"One thing that did change from the time that I originally wanted to do a solo record was that I started writing a lot of vocal numbers. I've always written instrumentals, it seems. I'd like to do a CD one day maybe called 'Guitar Stuff' that features some of those. But since Blue Highway started, I've really felt a need to come up with songs, so I had some laying around that I thought would be good. Stuff like 'The Kid,' which I wrote after reading a book about Billy the Kid. I didn't want to sing it, but in my head I could just hear John Cowan belting it out. Turns out it sounded exactly like I imagined!
"Another factor was I wanted to give my son Daniel something to remember, and something to remind me of him as a kid. He's 12 now, growing up so fast! It's really sad, in a way every parent can relate. Of course, in another way, it's exciting, and he's a great help, just a wonderful kid. He suggested titles for a couple tunes, and I dedicated the last song 'The Reason,' to him."
What Tim has done is put together fourteen numbers, including nine which he wrote or co-wrote, that form a musical mosaic. There are many colors and patterns laid down in a way that will please the ear of the most discriminating listener.
As Tim said, he has written many instrumentals, and we will get to a few of those later. What we don't get to hear as often is his vastly underrated and versatile vocal ability. The title cut, "Rider on an Endless Line," is a good example of this guy's singing prowess. It's very smooth with a folk touch. "Danville Girl," on the other hand, is raw, traditional, and haunting. And if you like your bluegrass blue, give a listen to Tim singing "Rain." All of these numbers are terrific, and I know he will be bombarded with requests in live performance.
We don't need to tell anyone that Tim Stafford can play his instrument, but just perhaps you haven't heard him display the virtuosity heard on Endless Line. He surrounded himself with big dogs like Rob Ickes, Ron Stewart, and Adam Steffey, and plays some of the finest numbers you will ever hear.
The project opens with "Cold Harbor", a crisp picking extravaganza that Tim wrote. There is blood pumping force throughout. Everybody breaks big on "Mamma Llama," another Stafford original and a sweet tune indeed.
However, If I had to pick a favorite instrumental on Endless Line, it would be "Obsession." I first heard Tim play this masterpiece at an AcuTab Jam a few years back. He walked onstage, played it, and walked off. The crowd was stunned, and you will be too. It was beautiful then, and it is even more beautiful now with the addition of a cello. He wrote this one twenty years ago.
All things considered, Endless Line is the total package to kick off your summer. Tim Stafford is one of the most creative minds in the business, and he has left us something to remember for a long time.
When the topic of bluegrass guitar heroes arises in polite conversation, it's seldom that the name of Tim Stafford is heard. Yet Stafford's abilities are universally praised by those lucky enough to hear him wail on the flattop. Endless Line, however, is far from a project aimed at bringing Tim in line as the successor to Tony Rice. Rather, it's a collection of songs that showcase his abilities as a session leader alongside some elegant guitar work.
That aside, Stafford did chose to open his set with a breakneck guitar tune entitled "Cold Harbor." Stafford's galvanizing performance on this tune provides ample notice that there is gonna be an ample portion of pickin' to come. And he doesn't disappoint. Stafford brings his art to every level of this recording and restates his instrumental abilities on other original compositions like the breakneck "Mamma Liama" or the delicate theme of "Obsession." He regularly illustrates that he's a complex instrumentalist that can be introspective at one moment and a butt kicker the next. However, Endless Line really focuses on Tim Stafford as a songsmith. And Tim offers some great ones here.
Perhaps his best work on Endless Line is found in a retelling of the Billy The Kid story. Stafford, who comments that he was inspired by a biography of the youthful outlaw, composed "The Kid" to express the hopeless loss of innocence that was the tragic element of the story. Guesting on lead vocals is John Cowan who captures the essence of Stafford's lyrics despite the fact that Tim omitted two verses to keep the song from going long. The music on "The Kid" contains a lot of audio color. Stafford, himself, opens the performance with a Mexican influenced intro. However, its banjoist Ron Stewart, fiddler Jimmy Van Cleve and the magnificent slide work of Rob Ickes that truly rocks this song. This is production that deserves notice. Many songwriters simply hear the song with a musical back-up. Tim Stafford produced this song as an epic that tells the story with, or without, vocals. He creates movement and action in the instrumental segments that bring more strength to the vocals. Then, as a final masterstroke, he pulls in John Cowan to present the vocals. Cowan has always been a vocalist with the ability to interpret complex lyrics with his explosive vocal stylings. Thus, the listener is tossed between the bombastic vocals and the undercurrent of movement that is provided by the players.
The aforementioned composition, "Obsession" stands alone as an instrumental that transcends the barriers of language and conveys a moving message through the majesty of organized sound. Stafford teams himself with Rushad Eggleston's moving cello to create a myriad of tonal colour. I found myself returning to this selection a lot out of a sense of inspiration. And every time that I listened to it again, there were more twists in the melody to consider. Others have tried this route, but few have taken it to the level of Tim Stafford.
If there is a criticism due for Endless Line, it's found in the fact that Stafford let too many guest vocalists into the studio. Stafford himself, is an interesting singer who can take a song to an effective conclusion. An excellent example is found in his performance on Marvin Davis' exceptional composition "Rain." It made me wish that Tim would have called Cowan for "The Kid" and left it at that!
Endless Line is a well rounded work. It does showcase Stafford as an instrumentalist and I, for one, believe that it's been a long time coming. However, Stafford presents a full package on this project and it rates with the best that have come along this year.
Steve Romanoski
Bluegrass Music News
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