Ashby Frank has released a new contemporary bluegrass version of “Mr. Engineer,” the Jimmy Martin and Paul Williams classic, via Mountain Home Music Company. The cut arrives after the chart-topping single “Everybody’s Got Their Nine Pound Hammer,” and shifts to a slower waltz feel.
The arrangement features Seth Taylor (guitar), Matt Menefee (banjo), Travis Anderson (bass), Jim VanCleve (fiddle), and labelmate Jaelee Roberts on harmony vocals. Frank leans into the song’s lonesome theme and highlights its blues accents rather than mirroring Martin’s original.
Frank traced his connection to the song to past sets with Mashville Brigade and his Yachtgrass shows. “I have wanted to record it since I started singing it live, and I am so proud of the finished product,” he said, adding that Menefee and VanCleve contributed “wicked and bluesy solos” that helped the track cohere.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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