This almost completely unknown country singer has roots in rural West Virginia, but his marvelous new album spent most of the year nestled away on his Web site, www.scottholsteinmusic.com. If you had $15 and a PayPal account, you could own a CD copy — 11 bluegrass-tinted songs penned by Holstein and sung in a commanding baritone that rivals anything to come out of Nashville this year.
Now, nearly nine months after its release, one of the finest country albums of the year is finally available on iTunes.
Chris Richards - / WASHINGTON POST
Now, nearly nine months after its release, one of the finest country albums of the year is finally available on iTunes.
Chris Richards - / WASHINGTON POST
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This is an outstanding recording in every way. With a rich baritone voice reminiscent of country singer Josh Turner and a talent for writing straight-to-the-gut lyrics wrapped up in strong melodies, Scott Holstein has hit one out of the park with Cold Coal Town. These great songs draw from life in coal country and build a consistent theme throughout the entire recording, resulting in a cohesive work that may very well stand with the likes of Jimmy Arnold’s Southern Soul or Marty Stuart’s The Pilgrim. Propelled by Holstein’s powerful vocals, Cold Coal Town is a trip through the highs and lows of Appalachian mountain life and the coal mining which has, throughout the history of the region, been both a blessing and a curse. Holstein’s well-crafted, compelling songs hit the themes believably, from the prisoner’s lament in “Walls Of Stone” and the civil war tale ‘Montani Semper Liberi” to “Roll Coal Roll” and the hard-driving “Boone County Blues.” Although lacking the high part of the high-lonesome sound, Holstein evokes the sound and influence of the Stanley Brothers with two songs of particular note. “Clinch Mountain Hills” is as close to something Ralph and Carter might have done as any song that actually mentions the Stanleys. And the chilling a cappella dirge “Black Water” reflects back to the folk tradition, when true songs of tragedy and loss would pass news from community to community, much like the Stanleys’ songs did with “No Schoolbus In Heaven” and “The Flood.” None of this is to suggest that Cold Coal Town is a depressing recording. It isn’t. It’s too refined and gutsy. It’s dark, but with driving instrumental work from a crackerjack supporting cast including Randy Kohrs, Scott Vestal, Aaron Ramsey, Clay Hess, and others, Cold Coal Town has an emotional impact that’s almost visual, as great music can do. Holstein has not only created a great recording, but also a fine work of art and a recording not to be missed. One of the best in a very long time. (Coal Records, P.O Box 22601 Nashville TN. 37202-2601 www.scottholsteinmusic.com.) AWIII BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED SEPT. FEATURE REVIEW
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First, you have to have a great song. Scott Holstein's got, not only one, but an album full! Then, you have to be able to SELL the song. This West Virginian definitely does that with these great performances from his lonesome-themed new CD, "Cold Coal Town". I hear Carter Stanley & Larry Sparks influences here. There's also an unmistakable Jamey Johnson, Waylon-esque quality to this stuff, and I believe either of those titans would have been right at home with these great songs. My personal favorites are "Roll Coal Roll," a lament that wonders how long the singer's truck will hold out & just where all that coal goes -that trucks, trains & boats haul, and the dark, brooding "Walls of Stone" that really gets the hair up on the back of my neck. Brilliant writing, great sounding tracks! Folks, there's a new singer/songwriter out there - his name is Scott Holstein and he is serving notice with this set of material that he's in here for the long haul. Buy this CD. You won't be sorry! .................
-Larry Cordle
I have known Scott Holstein for 10 years or more and his soulful style of singing.I like every song on this album! My favorite being Black Water about the Buffalo Creek flood. A Great singer , songwriter and musician, Scott can do it! It all sounds good! A great batch of musicians!Highly recommended !He has heartfelt music and worked for me over the years and is one fine person and friend. You can't look for any more soulful singing not only in Bluegrass, but if you like Merle Haggard and George Jones' Country style of music,Scott has his own way of doing it too! The first of many to come and lookng forward to the next one....He sings from the heart!
Dave Evans
Dave Evans
Singer/songwriter Scott Holstein lined up some of my favorite Nashville-based bluegrass session musicians to bring his original songs to life on an evocative album with a sharp edge. One can hardly go wrong with the likes of Randy Kohrs (Dobro, harmony vocals), Scott Vestal (banjo), Tim Crouch (fiddle), Aaron Ramsey (mandolin), Clay Hess (guitar), and Jay Weaver (bass). Special guest Don Rigsby adds vocal tracks to a cappella “Black Water” and “Clinch Mountain Hills.” The latter pays a respectful tribute to the Stanley Brothers. Holstein follows that track with another in ¾-time, “The Holstein Waltz,” a particularly elegant showcase for champion fiddler Crouch and mandolinist Ramsey. Originally from West Virginia, Holstein’s self-penned title cut has an impressionistic message that evolves melodically into an expanded jazzy improvisation. Mournful themes are similarly revisited in the “Boone County Blues” and “Roll Coal Roll.” Another stellar song is “Montani Semper Liberi” (West Virginia’s state motto meaning mountaineers are always free) that tells of a young West Virginia in 1863 who chooses neutrality during the Civil War rather than to allow the gray or blue to take his mountain. The bouncy instrumental “Leavin’ Charleston” could become a bluegrass standard. Holstein’s album has grit, largely as a result of his expressive baritone vocals and formidable rhythmically-enticing bluegrass accompaniment. Both are similar to Jim Lauderdale’s approach to bluegrass. Holstein’s direct, creative approach to writing and singing impart plenty of attitude, as well as a few honky tonk, country and rock & roll influences into a thoughtful bluegrass project. (Joe Ross) Reviewed By: Joe Ross / Roots Music Report
Scott Holstein was born in Boone County, in the heart of the coalfields of West Virginia, and he has chosen that imagery for the title of his album, Cold Coal Town. His mother and father both played bluegrass Gospel music as far back as he can remember and he began performing at the age of five with fiddler Senator Robert Byrd. Holstein started writing songs as a young boy. His biggest influences in song writing are Merle Haggard and, in performance style, Keith Whitley, although it is apparent that the likes of Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams and Dave Evans have left their mark on Holstein’s psyche. Almost all of his kin are in the mining industry and have been for more than a century. His grandfather was in the historic battle of Blair Mountain, 1921; one of the largest civil uprisings in United States history and the largest armed insurrection since the American Civil War. During the five-day confrontation between 10,000 and 15,000 coal miners fought an army of police and strikebreakers backed by coal operators, in an attempt by the miners to join a union in the southwestern West Virginia coalfields. Holstein moved to Nashville in the spring of 2009… “I was doing road gigs with Dave Evans and several other known acts and was ‘itching’ to record my own music. Randy Kohrs encouraged the move to Nashville to record my original music after we met at a festival around Macon, Georgia.” .Kohrs followed that by setting up the session at his own Slack Key Studio for August 17, 2010. All the songs on Cold Coal Town were penned by Holstein, who says, “These songs have been in my head for a while now and I made a point to debut my original music to honor where I came from (so they won’t forget me – and I don’t forget where I came from!). The songs on the album never had to be written down – they were just there.” .Now from whom have I heard that before? Holstein [guitar and vocals] is joined in the studio by co-producer Randy Kohrs [Dobro and vocals], Clay Hess [lead guitar], Scott Vestal [banjo], Aaron Ramsey [mandolin], Tim Crouch [fiddle] and Jay Weaver [bass], with Don Rigsby providing harmony vocals on two tracks. I would describe Cold Coal Town as mood music, dark moody blues; bluesy bluegrass-country that barely changes except for the bouncy banjo-led Leavin’ Charleston and the other instrumental on this disc, The Holstein Waltz. On these and throughout the ‘band’ is exemplary. The sombre tone is set with the opening bars of the Dobro intro to The Spell followed by Holstein’s husky baritone telling a tale of lost love. The second track, Walls of Stone, bemoans the consequences of jealous love. Holstein uses his voice very well, bringing a softness to the haunting tribute to another of Holstein’s influences, the Stanley Brothers, in Clinch Mountain Hills, a superb duet with Don Rigsby, Boone County Blues, another lament to lost love, and Montani Semper Liberi (Latin for “Mountaineers are Always Free”), the West Virginia state motto. The a cappella trio Black Water and Cold Coal Town are both top quality additions to the coal-mining song repertoire. The former relates the devastating events in Buffalo Creek in 1972 when 125 lost their lives; the title track is an expression of the desire to get away from coal mining and all that it brings. Both merit favourable comparison with similar songs penned by Hazel Dickens and Merle Travis. Along with Ain’t No Higher Ground and Roll Coal Roll Holstein shows that he is a great spokesman for the coal miner in the 21st century. Sadly, nothing much changes in the industry, or the way of life for many in West Virginia. On the back page of the notebook there is a legend “The bluegrass sessions Vol. 1”; on the basis of what Holstein has produced in Cold Coal Town
I can’t wait for Vol. 2.
Richard F. Thompson -BLUEGRASS TODAY .
I can’t wait for Vol. 2.
Richard F. Thompson -BLUEGRASS TODAY .
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The last musical recommendation I got from the late lamented 9513 was Scott Holstein, who Brody Vercher pointed out a few weeks ago. His independent CD Cold Coal Town has been produced by Scott himself alongside dobro player extraordinaire Randy Kohrs. Impressively, the entire album was recorded in one night (in Kohrs’ studio in Nashville), and great credit goes to the very accomplished band. Bluegrass backings and a soulful fusion of bluegrass-country-blues in Scott’s passionately smoky voice set this record apart. The songs, all written by Scott, are mainly rooted in his West Virginia coalmining family background, and the quality is exceptionally high. ‘The Spell’ opens the set with the protagonist railing against the woman he loves despite her “wicked ways”. It seems quite appropriate for it to lead into ‘Walls Of Stone’, the blues-infused lament of a prisoner sentenced to 99 years in gaol after killing his unfaithful wife. The sprightly instrumental ‘Leavin Charleston’ showcases the band’s tight, sparkling musicianship. Their more lyrical playing comes to the fore in another instrumental cut, the stately ’The Holstein Waltz’, which is lovely. Scott does not play an instrument on the album, but composed the tunes. ‘Boone County Blues’ is one of those cheerful sounding expressions of deep sadness which are common in bluegrass, again with really great picking. It is, perhaps, the least exceptional song here, but is still very good. The charming ‘Clinch Mountain Hills’ is a tribute to the Stanley brothers, written by Carter Stanley’s graveside and channelling his voice. Don Rigsby provides the high tenor harmony counterpoint to Scott’s gravelly baritone. I don’t remember ever seeing a country song with a Latin title before. ‘Montani Semper Liberi’ is the official motto of Scott’s home state of West Virginia (meaning “mountaineers [are] always free”), and the song tells a dramatic story, with a young man choosing not to take sides in the Civil War, just as the state was formed in June 1863, declaring: Mama stitched my uniform But no colors do I choose They’ll never take this mountain The gray nor the blue Cause mountaineers are always free And almost heaven’s good enough for me Upon this land I’ll state my creed Mountaineers are always free The grim reality of life in the coal towns fuels much of Scott’s best work. The title track has the protagonist leaving his childhood home for a better future, and reminiscing about the hardworking miner father who “left one day and came back dead”, having advised his son not to follow him into the mines. In ‘Roll, Coal, Roll’, meanwhile, the protagonist is a weary trucker moving coal down from the mountain mines. The acappella Black Water quietly and compellingly tells the true story of a fatal flood caused by a coal company’s unsafe practices in the 70s, when several communities were destroyed and over 100 people were killed at Buffalo Creek, West Virginia by coal slurry after a dam broke. Perhaps the highlight of a very fine record, this sounds like a traditional folk song, and has Don Rigsby and Randy Kohrs on harmony: Coal company said “God is to blame” They built the dam “but He brought the rain” Truth was known throughout the land Never do trust a company man Black water, black water So black and so deep And under black water forever I’ll sleep Death angels are calling out to me Black water is rolling down Buffalo Creek Death was the scene even high in the tree Fathers and children and mothers to be Nowhere to run as black water comes down And so is the life of a coal mining town A similar flood seen from the first person, this time caused by a coal company’s reckless clearance of tree cover on the mountain, sees locals seeking refuge, but there ‘Ain’t No Higher Ground’ to run to. This is a fantastic record, and definitely my favourite of the year so far. I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t make my end of year top 10. Grade: A + =Occasonal Hope via Brody Vercher+ MyKindofCountry/The 9513
Holstein has roots in West Virginia, but his latest release — easily one of the year’s finest country albums — is hiding in the dark corners of the internet. With a few clicks on Holstein’s Web site, you can order a CD copy of ”Cold Coal Town,” 11 bluegrass-tinted songs penned by Holstein and sung in a commanding baritone that practically stops time during the somber a cappella of “Black Water.” For fans who like to whine about the death of “real” country music, it’s time to put your PayPal password where your mouth is. - Chis Richards WASHINGTON POST
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