John Starling and Carolina Star

Slidin' Home Comes out Feburary 20, 2007!!



John Starling and Carolina Star create the kind of music that has critics raving, fans cheering and other musicians shaking their heads in amazement. They’ve been doing it for over thirty years, but if the name doesn’t have the immediate cache befitting these acoustic music legends, it’s because Carolina Star is the newest incarnation of a musical partnership that stretches back more then 30 years. That’s when John Starling (guitar, vocals), Mike Auldridge (dobro, vocals) and Tom Gray (bass vocals) first began playing together. Back then they went by the name Seldom Scene and their stunning musicianship and Starling’s soulful, emotive vocals, helped the band become one of the most influential acoustic groups of the 1970s. Their seminal work from that period influenced a whole generation of musicians including Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs.



The new record, Slidin’ Home, is a warm, intimate and engaging piece of work from three of the most celebrated musicians in the acoustic music fold. It opens with “Waitin’ On A Train,” a rolling, bittersweet travelogue about trying to get back home. The disc segues into the darkly, ominous “Cold Hard Business,” before ramping things up with “South Riding Tango,” an instrumental that marries bluegrass and classical music into an invigorating, original mix. Old friend Emmylou Harris shows up to add her typically stunning vocals on “In My Hour of Darkness,” a song she co-wrote with Gram Parsons. The song is a gospel-tinged tour de force featuring some of the most emotionally raw and poignant singing of Starling’s storied career. Another standout is a cover of the Little Feat classic “Willin’.” The band’s subtle, acoustic approach and Starling’s restrained vocals put a new plaintive spin on this classic open-road anthem. The band revels in their high-lonesome roots with “Those Two Blue Eyes,” a classic bluegrass song in theme and tone. The album closes with “A Prayer For My Friends,” an uplifting thank you to friends and loved ones that sings like a lullaby—it’s the perfect way to end an album from some of the most respected and beloved musicians working in acoustic music.



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