Tracklist with Audio Clips

Musicians/Credits

Gary Gordon - Vocals and Guitar

Roberta Gordon - Vocals and Autoharp

Bill Cross - Banjo

David Johnson - Fiddle

Curtis Jay Hiner - Stand Up Bass

 

With special guests:
Noah Gordon - Harmony Vocals on Tracks 1,4,6,7,12 (lead on 2, vs 2.)

Katsuyaki Miyazaki - Mandolin on Tracks 2,3,4,10

Mark Stoffel - Mandolin on all other tracks

 

Recorded at Noteworthy Studio in Carbondale, IL

Engineered by Todd Freeman

Produced by Curtis J. Hiner and Gary Gordon

Executive Producer: Kevin Graham

Mixed at Mainframe Studio, Nashville, TN by The Gordons

Mastered at Chelsea, Brentwood, TN.

Cover and inlay Photography by John Lee Montgomery III, Nouveau Photography, Nashville, TN

Graphic Design by Noteworthy Communications, Carbondale, IL

 

The Gordons would like to thank: Don Hamann, Al Murphy for the arrangement of Johnny Bring the Jug Around the Hill, our son Noah, Patsi COx, Don Gallagher at Gallagher Guitars.

 

Released on Reception Records of Carbondale, IL

Reviews

Paul Verna, Billboard magazine writer

 

"With a combination of straight-ahead bluegrass numbers ("Kentucky Morning," "Johnny Bring Around The Jug"), Christian songs ("Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine," "Little Country Church In The Pines," "Thank You Lord"), and country tunes, this album should appeal to a wide spectrum of fans. The voices of husband and wife Gary and Roberta Gordon blend wonderfully, and they are ably backed by bassist Curtis Jay Hiner, fiddler David Johnson, and banjo player Bill Cross. Other prime cuts include "I Woke Up With Tears In My Eyes" and "Sawdust," the latter of which features a guest vocal appearance by the Gordons' son Noah, a former Capitol artist who is now with the trio Phoenix."

 

Richard Gladney, PRO, Irish Bluegrass Music Club of Carlow, Ireland

 

"The Gordons have come to epitomize those thing which I love most about bluegrass music. Honesty, integrity, and respect for tradition are just some of the words which spring to mind. I don't have room to write all that I would like to about the album, but the best way I can summarize my feelings is to say Rest easy, Mr. Monroe, you music is in excellent hands."

Edward Morris, Music Journalist (CMT, formerly at Billboard)

 

"With their warm, glowing vocal harmonies and impeccably clean and uncluttered picking, the Gordons bring to mind that most listenable of all bluegrass bands, the great Flatt & Scruggs. And, like Flatt & Scruggs, the Gordons are wide-ranging in their song selection. Above all these qualities, however, is the fidelity with which the group conjures up memories of a sweet rural world now long vanished."

 

 

Bill Crosby, Internet Review

"End Of A Long Hard Day is in the vein of Claire Lynch and the Front Porch String Band or the Cox Family; it's very traditional with tight musicianship and brilliant vocal interplay between Gary Gordon and his wife Roberta. It's a worldwide effort, with musicians from the U.S., Germany and Japan. This was a wonderful revelation to me, because the instrumental numbers are so tight it sounds like these international players grew up under the direct tutelage of the Bluegrass Masters.

 

What sets this release apart for me are the songs. There are two by bluechip songwriter Gretchen Peters, the title cut and "Susannah," both masterfully arranged by Gary Gordon. Also included is the Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart chestnut, "Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine," and Ralph Stanley's marvelous "Big Tilda." The Bill Monroe-influenced "Little Country Church In The Pines" was co-written by Roberta Gordon and Curtis Jay Hiner. In fact, the Gordons wrote or co-wrote five of the twelve tracks, including the original and shrewd "Sawdust," penned by Noah Gordon, Gary and Roberta's son. Noah's debut country CD was widely praised by critics a couple of years back, due in part to his supreme songwriting skills. That talent is nowhere more evident than in this highly visual song that very handily tackles the meaning of wood, work and wealth.

 

One of the things I most love about Bluegrass is the reverent and unabashed inclusion on all great traditional albums of a Gospel number. The Gordons conclude this glorious CD with the inspirational "Thank You, Lord," a Gary Gordon original. Thank you, Gary and Roberta, for an extraordinary debut and new Bluegrass standards."

 

Bluegrass Unlimited, December 1997

 

"Each time I sat down to write about the CD I found myself just listening to it again and finding something new I liked about it. This is not slick bluegrass. It is very good bluegrass with a country sensibility and something very contemporary at the same time, something old-time as well. This is a recording that takes a grounded approach full of honest values of work, responsibility and respect of life.

 

The strong original material holds its own next to pieces by Damon Black and Tom T. Hall. What may be the most endearing characteristic of the Gordon's music is that they are not impressed with the glitter and smoke. They can bridge a gap between the sophisticated and the simple and at times as "I Woke Up With Tears In My Eyes", they get to the essence of mountain music like few else but Hazel Dickens could.

 

The presence of David Johnson on fiddle is a big plus for the success of this recording. His taste and uncanny ability to put the right note on the right place is the spice that makes the mix. Likewise with Katsuyuki Miyazaki and Mark Stoffel on mandolin. Their well-placed flourishes set off the vocals and arrangements with taste.

 

Vocals are shared with guest, Noah Gordon, who also wrote "Sawdust", a learned commentary on the economics of the Western World, as seen in the context of Kentucky. Noah's harmonies and his lead on "Sawdust" reveal him to be a gritty singer in the best of old-time country tradition. Roberta Gordon's voice has many shades of expression which she uses to good effect.

 

The Gordon's know their strengths and weakness and use this to great advantage. This recording is simplicity and honesty. If you love straight dealing, no frills bluegrass and old-time, this recording will bring hours of listening pleasure."

 

Dirty Linen, December 1997/January 1998

 

"Like an eye graced by a solitary tear, this album is touching, sad and beautiful. The husband and wife team, helped along by some very skillful sidemen, play guitar and autoharp on 12 bluegrass songs. Accompanied by upright bass, banjo and mandolin, this album offers nice and nostalgic bluegrass."

 

Music Row, Robert K. Oermann (July 8, 1997)

 

"More like a sweet old-time duo that a strict bluegrass act, the Gordon's sing with such open-hearted honesty and pick with such crystalline purity that you'd have to be made of steel to resist ‘em. I have a feeling this album is going to become a household fave immediately. My Discovery Award goes to one such act, The Gordons. I like ‘em for the same reason I like the Carter Family, simplicity and purity."

 

Track by Track Commentary

Sawdust
Noah Gordon/Louie Parker

 

Roberta: "My favorite of the bunch, for emotion. Gary and I needed original music on this CD and asked our son Noah to write something for us. He is a great writer, and how special that he sat down and thought of us, our love and the years we had performed as he grew up. He tailored a beautiful song for us with a message about our live of nature. Even better, he teamed up with our lifelong friend, Louie Parker, who co-wrote the number with him. And if that weren't enough, Noah trades lines with his father on the song - when we all three came in on harmony in the chorus, I get joy in my heart."

 

Gary: "Both I and Mr. Parker have worked in the sawmill. Hard, dangerous work, we tip our hats to those fellow workers. Let's conserve our forests, instead of throwing them in the trash can."

 

Johnny Bring The Jug Around The Hill
public domain

 

Roberta: "We left the choice to David Johnson to pick an instrumental number to show off his fiddling. I love it because it's traditional, exciting and raw bluegrass! Then when Katz played mandolin as well, what can I say, - we are so proud to work with such tremendous players."

Gary: "Nothing fancy or high fallutin' here. A traditional tune David learned from Iowa fiddler Al Murphy. Plain fun."

 

Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine
Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart

 

Roberta: "A favorite of mine and Gary's for many years. Since the '70s, anytime I met or saw a person in a wheelchair or limping, I would sing this song to myself, sometimes out loud, if I was driving."

Gary: "A reminder for me to count my blessings. The health, family and friends I have are precious gifts."

 

Kentucky In The Morning
Tom T. Hall

 

Roberta: "Our cousin Curtis, Gary and I agreed on this number. I was more than delighted to do the song. Tom T. Hall was a favorite of my father."

Gary: "A tribute to a beautiful state. Home of the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Written by one of our favorite songwriters."

 

End Of A Long Hard Day
Gretchen Peters

 

Roberta: "Gary researched this, feeling we should do something written by Gretchen Peters, knowing she is a great writer. Her publishing company was very nice and eager to send us some of her things. We chose this song feeling we could make it ours by doing it duet style. I really like the message towards marriage or relationships in general. All you need is love!"

Gary: "This makes me aware of the need to share love and affection through good times and bad. When I'm tired from a job well done, that's a real good feeling."

 

The Old School
Gary Gordon

 

Roberta: "Very warm and close to home. A job well done. I'm proud of Gary's story song about a real place in the field by our home, where an old school sat. People really do ask us if there's anything left of the school, because the know we live by it."

Gary: "A true song about a real place near our home. I knew the lady that was the last teacher the little one room school had. As I'd walk past, I'd always envision a scene from years gone by. Horses tied outside, kids in the schoolyard, smoke from the chimney. A return to a simpler time."

 

I Woke Up With Tears In My Eyes
Damon Black

 

Roberta: "This was written by one of our favorite bluegrass writers, Damon Black. He sure has a talent for saying timeless new things in an old time way."

Gary: "This song's about a dream of being back home in childhood. Bringing alive memories of those we miss, those loved ones we'll meet again."

 

Little Country Church In The Pines
Curtis J. Hiner/Roberta Gordon

 

Roberta: "We wanted some gospel music as well as some secular on this CD, as we also felt we should lean towards our own writing. Cousin Curtis Jay wrote the core of this song for me, intending it to be up-tempo and old fashioned. I helped by adding lyrics here and there and am proud to join the ranks of published songwriters!"

Gary: "Reminds me of the little country church we attend. It's a good feeling to round a curve and see a little church in the distance. Many still stand. Others don't but they are not forgotten."

 

Big Tilda
Ralph Stanley

 

Roberta: "This was chosen by Bill Cross, who plays banjo. It's high energy and he drives the song to a fever pitch. It was absolutely plain fun to record this one!"

Gary: "This is what bluegrass music is all about. Hard drivin', pickin' that comes from the soul. I really like the banjo on this. It just makes me feel good."

 

Susannah
Gretchen Peters

 

Roberta: "Again, Gretchen Peters wrote this. It was Gary's choice. He imagined the production from the time he heard it. I, of course, loved getting to sing the flowing feminine harmony to show I can both belt it out or be a soft singer."

Gary: "A sad one of lost love. I think she'll take me back again if she hears this plea."

 

High Ballin'
Curtis J. Hiner

 

Roberta: "Cousin Curtis Jay wrote this song for me. It's very special because Curtis is like our other son. He's always down at our home playing bluegrass on the porch, from the time he was so little he'd have to stand on a stump to reach the stand up bass. He'd stay till way up on the night and get a licking when he got home. But it didn't stop him the next time we got together. I love the song - it shows how I learned to sing from way down in the diaphragm. Sister Alicia taught me how in the Catholic School."

Gary: "This train is rollin' through Randolph County fast! When I was young we lived near a railroad and it was a familiar sight to see a hobo. They'd climb in the boxcars and head for greener pastures."

 

Thank You Lord
Gary Gordon

 

Roberta: "Gary wrote this because we are mindful each day to be thankful to the Lord. He made the whole thing possible, so we just thanked him as an ending."

Gary: "My prayer, our prayer of thanks for each day. We're grateful for our talents and thank God for the chance to share our music with others."

 

 

 

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