He's got wheels of his own

Dan Tyminski

Wheels (Rounder)

ESSENTIAL "Who Showed Who"

It's been eight years since Dan Tyminski released his first solo album; apparently his primary gig as a member of the most successful bluegrass band on the planet, Alison Krauss's Union Station, has been keeping him occupied. But with Krauss currently off with Robert Plant, Tyminski is striking while the iron is hot. He's assembled a simply formidable band to do so, surrounding his high, reedy tenor and guitar work with Union Station bandmate Barry Bales, ex-Mountain Heart mandolin maestro Adam Steffey, and a pair of extraordinary multi-instrumentalists, Ron Stewart and Justin Moses. Tyminski's vocal work in Union Station tends to be featured on the trad-leaning fare. That's where he heads here, both musically and in the prevalence of archetypal bluegrass themes of heartbreak and death, from "Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On," an old Kitty Wells number that he 'grasses up, to "How Long This Train," a slow, sad one centered on an old man waiting for a train to bring his son's body home from war. There's also the keening, propulsive "Who Showed Who," a dark tale of abuse, murderous retaliation, life in prison, and children left behind. With "Wheels," Tyminski has stepped forward with an album of vibrant bluegrass music. [Stuart Munro]