Not a Word From Home (Rounder Records 0082) is a studio album from Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys, the Boston-area ensemble led by the mandolinist and high-tenor vocalist who became the most admired figure in the northeastern regional bluegrass scene, presenting the Southeastern tradition to audiences far from its geographic roots. Val plays mandolin and sings; Dave Dillon plays guitar; Eric Levenson plays banjo; Paul Silvius holds the bass. Rounder Records, founded in Somerville, Massachusetts, provided an ideal home for Val's ensemble, pairing a Boston-rooted label with a Boston-rooted act committed to the most direct possible presentation of the Kentucky and Tennessee bluegrass tradition. Val's pure, unwavering high tenor — modeled in part on Monroe's approach — made his recording identity immediately recognizable in the New England acoustic community.
Tracklist
- 1 Not a word from home 2:28
- 2 Long time gone 2:52
- 3 Clinch Mountain Backstep alt version 3:27
- 4 From 40 to 65 3:03
- 5 High on a hilltop 3:43
- 6 Goodbye Old Pal alt version 2:40
- 7 Why Don’t You Tell Me So alt version 2:23
- 8 Don't sell daddy any more whiskey 3:21
- 9 Poor Ellen Smith alt version 2:16
- 10 Is this my destiny 2:57
- 11 What goes on in your mind 2:48
- 12 Old Daniel Prayed alt version 2:25
