Songs: RU4 Reel, Bad Case Of The Blues, Here Today And Gone Tomorrow, Preachin' Prayin' And Singin', Hold On, Shake Hands With Mother Again, The Weasel, Whistles On The Trains, Just When I Needed You, The Words She Writes Tonight, I Wonder If I Care As Much, It Won't Be Long, Wait A Minute, RU4 Reel (Reprise)

Personnel: Herb Pedersen--banjo, guitar, vocals; Bill Bryson--bass, vocals; Billy Ray Lathum--guitar, vocals; Kenny Blackwell--mandolin, vocals; Gabe Witcher--fiddle, good attitude

When the word bluegrass comes to mind one immediately thinks of places down south like Kentucky and Virginia, or maybe the Carolinas. But not southern California. Los Angeles isn't known as the bluegrass capital of the west coast, but it may become that soon if the Laurel Canyon Ramblers have anything to say about it. Led by versatile sideman Herb Pedersen -- who has performed over the years with Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt along with being one of the founders of two-time Grammy nominee The Desert Rose Band--on banjo, the Ramblers are composed of seasoned vets that together produce a solid old-time bluegrass sound reminiscent of the bluegrass bands of yore.

Blue Rambler 2 is the follow-up to their debut recording Rambler's Blues, and it has a little bit of everything on it-- three gospel tunes, six originals, three instrumentals, covers of classics by Ralph Stanley, Don Everly, and Jim Ed Brown, and your standard she-done-me wrong songs that make up the backbone of bluegrass music. And as you might expect from a band with harmonymeister Pedersen in it, the harmonies are heavenly throughout.

Blue Rambler 2 begins and ends with a fiddle and banjo duet written by fiddler Gabe Witcher with a tongue-in-cheek rap title of RU4 Reel. Next comes the Ralph Stanley standard Bad Case of the Blues, a lament about good love gone bad. The band's full harmony sound is showcased on the classic Jim Ed Brown tune Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. (You serious fans of Herb Pedersen no doubt have a copy of the excellent bluegrass recording he made in 1982 with the short-lived band Here Today, which featured David Grisman on mandolin and an up and coming country singer by the name of Vince Gill on guitar). Bassist Bill Bryson, who played with Pedersen in The Desert Rose Band, adds two of his original songs, one called Whistles on the Trains, and the other an upbeat optimistic number called Hold On, which is my favorite cut on the CD. The Ramblers do a nice job on the Everly Brothers' song I Wonder If I Care As Much along with the ultimate version of one of the Seldom Scene's signature songs called Wait A Minute. At first I had a hard time figuring out why they recorded this number until I discovered that banjo man Pedersen wrote the song. And all this time I thought that Herb was just a great singer and player!

The Laurel Canyon Ramblers have been all over the musical map in previous incarnations-- from pop to country to folk-- yet collectively they produce an authentic bluegrass and old-timey sound that makes it seem like they've been playing together for eons. You'll feel anything but blue if you amble on over to your nearest Bluegrass Megastore and pick up a copy of Blue Rambler 2.