Dan Tyminski has filled some popular roles in the bluegrass field as a member of the Lonesome River Band and a longtime member of Alison Krauss’s bluegrass backing band Union Station. But since albums for the latter band have become more and more spread out, Tyminski has kept busy helping out other artists on projects, lending instrumental, vocal, and even engineering help. Movie lovers also probably know his voice without realizing it because he was the lead singer on the recording of “Man Of Constant Sorrow” for the fictitious Soggy Bottom Boys in the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou. His first solo disc from 2000, Carry Me Across The Mountain, was a solid album released on the Doobie Shea label (which was started and run by fellow Lonesome River Band alum Tim Austin). His 2008 effort Wheels is true bluegrass with some deep songwriting blended in.
Tyminski did receive a little help from his friends for Wheels. Fellow Union Station members Adam Steffey, Barry Bales, and Ron Block pitched in their talents, with Block turning in two songs for the project, Blue Highway and former Union Station member Tim Stafford contributing one song, and country artist Vince Gill doing some backing vocals. But it is Tyminski’s talent that really carries the album. Boasting nine original tunes with solid instrumentation and powerful vocals, this album holds its own.
Wheels is stocked with several great songs, including the title track, which rose to number one on the bluegrass charts. “I Ain’t Taking You Back No More” is a solid original from Tyminski, and Ron Block’s “The One You Lean On” and “It All Comes Down To You” (which is also well done on the Alison Krauss and Union Station disc So Long So Wrong) are both great driving bluegrass tunes. This disc also has some great story songs that draw the listener into the lyrical tales. “Making Hay” is a farm boy’s lament that he ever left the homestead for city life, and “Some Early Morning” is a great spin on the classic murder ballad with a beautiful melody and harmonies. Blue Highway’s Tim Stafford offers “How Long Is This Train” which at first seems long, but it is a song that sticks in your head in both story and tune.
Tyminski’s solo outings have proven that he is just as excellent stepping out into the spotlight as he is when he is backing another artist. Wheels makes bluegrass fans wish he would produce solo albums more often.
