Good Brothers’ latest may be their best album ever

Craig Bakay | Oct 04, 2017

Aging baby boomers who’ve taken up the guitar in retirement take heart. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that becoming a septuagenarian is an impediment to producing great music if The Good Brothers’ latest CD, Wide Awake Dreamin’ is any indication.
This is their first album since 2008’s Restricted Goods (17th overall) and is something of a renaissance for the brothers. It’s almost as if they decided to take all the things they do best and roll them into a single album.

Bruce and Brian are 71 now. Larry is 65. But they still bring it. When they played Sharbot Lake a couple of weekends ago, they had just returned from their 39th European tour and they plan on their 40th next summer. It doesn’t look like they have any intentions of slowing down.
The Good Brothers have always been country, but not Nashville/Grand Ole Opry country. They’ve always been more Flying Burrito Brothers/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band/Poco kind of country and that means plenty of vocal harmonies. And the voices are still there folks.
Wide Awake Dreamin’ features 10 songs, seven of which are Good Brothers originals. There doesn’t seem to be a standout tune in this package but top to bottom, this is probably the best album they’ve ever done.
It’s a very consistent album, the kind you can listen to with a bunch of people and not hear any complaints.

A couple of original tunes, For Cryin’ Out Loud and One of These Days, are nice little 4/4 county crooners that will likely get a lot of campfire and open mike treatments once word gets around.
They follow those two with a Celtic cover, A Rainbow’s End, that’s heavy on Maritime influences. Then comes Train of Fools, a bluegrass original done in that bluegrass style that instantly says “Good Brothers.”
That’s followed up by Your Day Will Come, a nifty little tune featuring some tasty guitar and dobro work.

All in all, this CD is a classy effort that long-time fans will find quite satisfying. For those rare individuals unfamiliar with The Good Brothers, this is a good place to start.