Bluegrass firecracker Rhonda Vincent ups the ante on this live set, which includes 8 new songs among the 21 exemplary cuts. Back home in Missouri, at St. Louis's Sheldon Concert Hall, Vincent ranges across her catalogue, coming out hard and fast with "Kentucky Borderline" and offering up a searing take on Dolly Parton's "Jolene," a spirited reading of "Driving Nails in My Coffin," and a touching rendition of an Alison Krauss–style bluegrass tear-jerker, "You Can't Take It with You when You Go," all of which showcase the artist's acumen at spicing up tradition with a contemporary rhythmic thrust and pop-inflected vocals that never lose their backcountry flavor. The newly recorded songs, penned by various members of the Rage, include "Me Too," a brisk instrumental set-to by fiddler Hunter Berry, which features a series of jaw-dropping, fleet-fingered banjo and guitar solos challenging Berry's barn-burning bowing. Another, "I've Forgotten You," a harmony-rich, heart-tugging reminiscence of lost love, spotlights one of Vincent's richest, most moving vocals on record. Buttress all this with some southern gospel quartet sounds (on the new "Son Drop In"), a full-throttle vocal and instrumental workout on Jimmie Rodgers's "Muleskinner Blues," some fanciful country blues ("Heartbreakin' Old Achin' Blues") -- not to mention Vincent's engaging presence as hostess -- and the result is one of the most memorable live albums in recent years.
