Album Review – Dailey & Vincent’s “Let’s Sing Some Country!” (2024)

October 17, 2022

TriggerReviews21 Comments

Album Review – Dailey & Vincent’s “Let’s Sing Some Country!” (1)

We’re used to country bands and artists these days going bluegrass for a little change of pace. Alan Jackson, Dwight Yoakam, Sturgill Simpson and the like have done this over the years to some good success. But it’s rare for a purely bluegrass outfit to flip the script and go country. That’s exactly what Grand Ole Opry members and 35-time IBMA winners Dailey & Vincent decided to do with their first original album in five years, and they pull it off with flying colors.

The duo was formed in 2008 after Jamie Dailey left Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver where he was the lead vocalist and guitarist, and paired up with bassist/mandolinist Darrin Vincent who previously played with Ricky Skaggs in Kentucky Thunder, as well as in the family band The Sally Mountain Show with his sister, the Queen of Bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent. Since then they’ve become a mainstay of the traditional bluegrass circuit, often mixing Gospel sentiments in with their songs.

But sensing a change of pace was needed, they decided to cut loose and record a country album this time. Granted, when they say “country,” don’t think of straight traditional country, or the 90s country sound that’s all the rage now, and most certainly not the more contemporary country you may hear on the radio. Really, the best way to describe this album is a project where the duo decided to release themselves from the rigid confines of traditional bluegrass to let the songs and the vocals become the centerpiece of the music as opposed to the bluegrass instrumentation.

The biggest takeaway from this approach is how amazing the vocals and the vocal arrangements on this album sound. Already top in their field as singers, Let’s Sing Some Country! really zeros the audience onto the singing and vocal performances, whether its the highlonesome, high register bluegrass singing brought to more songwriting-based country compositions like the opening song “I’ll Leave My Heart in Tennessee,” or the quartet magic of “Dig a Little Deeper” and “Feels Like That Again” reminding you of vintage Oak Ridge Boys with the bass voice bringing chills to the back of your neck.

Album Review – Dailey & Vincent’s “Let’s Sing Some Country!” (2)

Dailey & Vincent leave the songwriting to others on this album, but to favorable results. Some recognizable names like Ashley Monroe, Alison Krauss, Jimmy Fortune, and Rhonda Vincent make contributions to the album, but the only immediately-recognizable song is probably “Hillbilly Highway,” which Steve Earle fans will immediately finger. Perhaps the best written track on the album is Vince Gill’s “Young Man’s Town.” A dud of a single for Gill back in 2003, it’s cutting and honest realization about the rhythms of Nashville were as relevant then as they are now, and confer a lot of wisdom.

Many of the songs on Let’s Sing Some Country! have at least some reference to religious or Christian notions, which is customary for the duo, though no song fully veers into the Gospel or contemporary Christian category. Sometimes though, the production kind of does, with a song like “Closer To You” feeling rather syrupy and a little overly sentimental. Again, this isn’t an in your face “Country!” album necessarily. The production and music are more of a rootsy contemporary style as opposed to a honky tonk sound, but it’s more country than it is anything else.

There are also a lot of just fun tracks on this album like “Message From the Farm,” to go along with some sentimental and acoustic ones like the final song “If I Die A’ Drinkin'” with some great steel guitar. You can tell Dailey & Vincent had a lot of fun making this project. 15 years into a career, things can start to feel stale sometimes, and this bluegrass duo freshens things up by releasing this country record to favorable results.

7.8/10

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Purchase Let’s Sing Some Country!

Alison Krauss, Ashley Monroe, , Darrin Vincent, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Jamie Dailey, Jimmy Fortune, Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill

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21 Comments

Jeremy
October 17, 2022 @ 9:56 am

Great review. Streaming it now. Out of the gate it’s a great listen.

Reply
Jeremy gee
October 17, 2022 @ 9:57 am
See Also
The List of Aaron McCune Albums in Order - Old Time Music Aaron McCune Keeps Bass Singing Alive with Oak Ridge Boys, Dailey & Vincent William Lee Golden & The Goldens: Three Genres, Three Generations, Three Albums The Oak Ridge Boys Announce Farewell Tour

Awesome album. Streaming it now. Good to hear something less produced. Thanks for the recommendation.

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King Honky Of Crackershire
October 17, 2022 @ 10:25 am

Ah yes, authenticity. I love these dudes.

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CJ Ellis
October 17, 2022 @ 1:23 pm

Isn’t “Those Memories of You” from the Trio album with Dolly, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstandt? I think that song is pretty recognizable along with Hillbilly Highway.

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- Trigger
  October 17, 2022 @ 1:36 pm
  
  Yeah, it’s the same song, and probably another one people may recognize. I just think of “Hillbilly Highway” as one of Steve Earle’s signature songs, so it’s a little weird to cut it, though they do a good job with it.
  
  Reply
  - Steverino
    October 20, 2022 @ 5:47 am
    
    It’s not totally out of left field. Ricky Skaggs covered Hillbilly Highway on his Life Is a Journey album.
    
    Reply
Terry
October 17, 2022 @ 1:31 pm

A fun and very talented group in concert, should be a great album!

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Wayne
October 17, 2022 @ 3:43 pm

I have followed them from their first album. They are great. A real duo and not the phoney kind.

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David: The Duke of Everything
October 17, 2022 @ 4:09 pm

Those two songs sound great, will definitely check out the whole thing. It’s definitely not traditional county, sounds what it is, a hybrid of bluegrass n country. But that’s just fine by me. Good review trigger.

See Also
Dailey & Vincent Go Track By Track Through Their Debut Country Record, ‘Let's Sing Some Country’

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JameyJohnsonFan
October 17, 2022 @ 4:38 pm

I’m loving this and it only grew when I saw them in concert the this came and they upgraded me to the 1st row. I’ll Also be seeing the, this way Dollywood. Jamie’s voice really shines like always especially on “cold as winter” which he told the story about Vince pitching it to him. Also the guitar player “Ben James” is incredibly and is destin for bigger things. You can hear him sing tenor on “you ain’t heard lonesome yet” when he was in Doyle Lawson’s band.

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- Jamey Johnson Fan
  November 3, 2022 @ 8:26 pm
  
  A late reply to this but wanted to chime in after hearing D &V 5 times (shorter shows) at Dollywood recently. Since it was a lot of the same crowd they played different songs so got hear a lot of them. They are just amazing live one of the best I’ve seen and bring comedy as well. Since most people know that i’’ll focus on something not known as much.
  There latest member singing tenor/lead Ben James is absolutely incredible. I go to lots of concerts and never have I came back saying “ I have no ideal how he doesn’t become a major superstar”. For comparison In the last year I have seen Vince Gill, Jamie Dailey and Jimmy Fortune live and if I had to rank them I would put Ben 2nd behind Jimmy.
  He shined signing bluegrass, gospel, and country songs when singing lead. I was thankfully able to grab Nearly all of them On video songs like Tennessee waltz, Beautiful Altar of Prayer, We missed you etc. His version of “grand tour” on IG is as good as it gets. He also appears to have a good head on his shoulders and was raised the right way. He gave me a shirt after the show and wouldn’t take $ for it.
  The good news he has a record deal with RBR and is working on his 1st full album. The musicians on it include Ricky Skaggs and Ben Isaacs. I believe just 1 official song out on Spotify “teardrops in Tennessee” with a version of Christmas in Dixie coming soon.
  The good
  He is just 25 and is signs
  
  Reply
Di Harris
October 17, 2022 @ 10:05 pm

“But sensing a change of pace was needed, they decided to cut loose and record a country album…”
Nuh-Uh,
Stop teasin’.
Actually, they sound great!
Loving this, back up singers, etc.

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Matt
October 17, 2022 @ 11:49 pm

The bass singer, Aaron McCune, is incredile. Prior to D&V, he sang with gospel quartet Gold City and others, and also filled in with the Oak Ridge Boys. GREAT singer.

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Kevin Smith
October 18, 2022 @ 4:35 am

Dig a Little Deeper was indeed done by The Oak Ridge Boys many decades back. It’s a monster of a song. Hats off to the bass singer Aaron McCune, he’s a phenom. Aaron has filled in for Richard Sterban of the Oaks, on occasion.
Unquestionably Dailey and Vincent are keeping the vocal harmony group concept alive these days. There has been a trend in trad bluegrass to bring in classic country to setlists, because there is such a demand to hear it.

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- Countryfan68
  October 18, 2022 @ 4:55 am
  
  Aaron also is the bass singer for William Lee Golden and the Goldens, on all three albums they Recorded , COUNTRY ROADS, OLD COUNTRY CHURCH, AND SOUTHERN ACCENTS, HE sings bass on all 34 songs, he even tours with them on some of their dates, when he isn’t singing with other people, but I agree, he is a fantastic bass singer, if you like him on dig a little deeper in the well, then you should hear him sing the bass parts on Elvira and Bobbie Sue, two other Oaks song that the Goldens recorded. He is fantastic. I enjoy his singing very much.
  
  Reply
  - scott
    October 19, 2022 @ 6:57 am
    
    Aaron is one of the best bass singers in not just gospel, but also in the country realm. He’s right up there with Tim Duncan, who is unbelievable.
    
    Reply
  - Jamey Johnson Fan
    October 19, 2022 @ 4:25 pm
    
    When I see William lee golden and family a few weeks back Aaron couldn’t make it. So Tim Duncan filled in and he was good as well. In my personal rankings Jeff Chapman would still be#1 (kingdom heirs/dollywood), but you can’t go wrong with any of them
    
    Reply
Countryfan68
October 18, 2022 @ 4:59 am

Trigger. I meant to say hear him sing, could you please correct it , thanks

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Garrett Roe
October 19, 2022 @ 5:23 am

There are some outstanding vocal performances on here! My personal favorites are Jamie’s vocals on Colder than Winter and Rhonda’s harmonies on Those Memories

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Mauricio
October 20, 2022 @ 3:55 pm

Love it ! Not a bad song in it !

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Katie Danielle
October 20, 2022 @ 7:36 pm

Thank you for this awesome review of the album. I have always said I was a bluegrass girl whole heartedly but D&V are impeccable with any song they do on stage or on an album which has made it so easy to follow their changes through the years. I’ve been following the band since their start & I am SO proud of their accomplishments & thankful for the friendships that have been built over the years. They deserve nothing but the best & I hope this album takes them to new heights. This entire band is full of some of the most genuine & humble people I’ve ever met. Do yourself a favor & go see their show when they’re near you, you won’t regret it.

Reply

Album Review – Dailey & Vincent’s “Let’s Sing Some Country!” (2024)

21 Comments

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