Aubrey Haynie
A Man Must Carry On

By Steven Stone
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CD Stock Number: SUG-CD-3908

 

  It's difficult to think of a 26 year old as an "old pro", but that's exactly describes Aubrey Haynie. He's played fiddle and mandolin behind Arron Tippin and spent two years in Clint Black's road band. During the last five years he's worked with Pam Tillis, Trisha Yearwood, Clint Black, Wynonna, Travis Tritt, Martina Mcbride, Shania Twain, FaithHill, Randy Travis, Brooks and Dunn, Lari White and many others. This is his second solo album for Sugarhill. As befits a player of his stature, Aubrey is surrounded by a bevy of super-star musicians. The roster reads like a who's who of contemporary bluegrass. Bobby Hicks plays fiddle, Bryan Sutton plays Guitar, Dennis Crouch plucks string bass, Rob Ickes and Jerry Douglas handle dobro, Scott Vestal, Bela Fleck, Kevin Haynie, and David Talbot play banjo, and Carl Jackson, Tim Mensy, Ronnie Bowman, and Tim O'Brien contribute vocals.

While Aubrey is known for his musicianship, A Man Must Carry On isn't just a collection of hot instrumentally-driven numbers. Sure, there's quite a bit of hot picking here, but there's also heartfelt music. A Man Must Carry On, a tune co-written by Aubrey and Bobby Clark is a fine example of a contemporary tune that has all necessary attributes to be a great traditional bluegrass song. "Butcher Boy" is a traditional number that sounds as fresh an heartfelt as if it was written yesterday.

For anyone who's worn out all their Bill Monroe albums long ago and despairs that "They just don't make bluegrass like they used to." A Man Must Carry On will restore your faith in the younger generation. The only way it gets any more authentic than this is if you play all the instruments yourself. 

Enjoyment: 90

Sound: 80