Road Into Town was released on 9 October 2012 on Patuxent Music (PX CD-238) by Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, after the band’s 2008 Rounder album The Room Over Mine. The Southern Grass began as Ted Lundy, Bob Paisley and the Southern Mountain Boys, with Fred Hannah and Jerry Lundy; Bob’s son Danny soon joined them, and after Bob Paisley died in November 2004 Danny took over as the front man.
On this album Danny Paisley plays guitar and sings lead, with Mark Delaney on banjo, Doug Meek on fiddle, Eric Troutman on bass and vocals, and Michael Cleveland on mandolin and second fiddle. Tom Mindte adds a bass vocal on the closing track. The thirteen tracks draw on older country and bluegrass songs: “Margie” comes from Bob Paisley’s repertoire, “Alcatraz Island Blues” was written by Alton Delmore and recorded for Bluebird in 1938, “Cabin on a Mountain” is associated with Ray Park and Vern Williams, and “My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You,” a 1957 Ray Price hit, is sung by Troutman. The title song is by Chris Stuart, “Please Stop Falling” by Canadian songwriter Mike O’Reilly, and “Dancin’ with Sally” by Delaney; “Cherokee Shuffle” is the album’s only instrumental. It closes with Red Smiley’s gospel number “I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer.”
Tracklist
- 1 Road Into Town 3:38
- 2 Margie 2:43
- 3 Please Stop Falling 3:45
- 4 Cherokee Shuffle alt version 3:39
- 5 I Overlooked an Orchid 4:16
- 6 Alcatraz Island Blues 2:21
- 7 Cabin on a Mountain alt version 3:05
- 8 You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover 2:44
- 9 Dancin' With Sally 2:58
- 10 My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You 3:00
- 11 I Been Walkin' 2:18
- 12 I Saw Your Face in the Moon 2:45
- 13 I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer 3:09
