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 If you were to gather together an average cross-section of people, and ask them if they thought it would be an advantage for a performer to be the child of a living legend, most would probably conclude that it would have to be a definite plus. After all, the doors of opportunity would be quicker to open, and the spotlight of public attention that so many artists spend years trying to cultivate would be yours because . . . well . . . just because. Famous by default, so to speak. And doubtless those are real, tangible advantages. But then there's the down side - pressure. The learning curve, the whole growth process with all its potential missteps and pitfalls, is a public document. Most artists get to take those perilous first steps of their careers in relative anonymity, a nameless face in the crowd. But not if you're the son of a legend - not if you're Ralph Stanley II. So it wasn't without a certain amount of trepidation that Ralph II released his first solo album last year, Listen To My Hammer Ring. Like an accused waiting for the jury to return, Stanley waited for the critics and the public to pass judgement. Through all the expectations, the assumptions, and the inevitable comparisons, the verdict came ………… It was good! In fact, it was real good. The reviews were excellent, and the response from the fans was enthusiastic. Now comes his sophomore release, Pretty Girls, City Lights, an even stronger effort that will solidify the respect that he gained from Listen To My Hammer Ring, and further establish that he, like his father, has a powerful voice that is uniquely his own. A voice and a style he has been developing for a long time.
As one might expect for the son of a renowned banjo player, the first instrument Ralph II ever held was a banjo. At the ripe old age of three, Ralph, (or simply "Two" as he is called by his fellow bandmates in the Clinch Mountain Boys), had his first lesson from the elder Stanley, learning a simple finger roll. It turned out, however, that he would not be following in his father's footsteps when it came to choice of instrument. He soon fell under the spell of the undisputed king of boyhood musical desires, the guitar. He spotted one under his sister's bed, and, according to Ralph, "I wanted to play that. When I was five years old, I started with the guitar, and I've been with the guitar ever since." But despite his interest in the guitar, and the fact that he was occasionally travelling with the Clinch Mountain Boys on the road, he had not yet developed an ambition to play professionally. It took until age 12, and an old 1970's video of the late Keith Whitley during his tenure as lead singer for the Clinch Mountain Boys, to inspire him to become a professional musician. After seeing Whitley he was hooked and spent hours in the basement honing his skills, and weathering the comparisons to his late Uncle Carter. His persistence paid off, and he took the stage as lead singer with Ralph Sr. and the Clinch Mountain Boys in June of 1995. Since then, he has earned the respect of Stanley fans everywhere, and has garnered praise as a strong new artist in his own right.
Pretty Girls, City Lights presents us with a more relaxed Ralph II, stretching his artistic legs, and handling his smooth baritone voice with the practiced ease of a veteran. His voice is steeped in the mountain tradition, its richness punctuated by an underlying edginess that always seems on the verge of bursting free from the control of its master. You can hear it on "Home In The Mountains," an emotionally taut ode to home and family, and on "I'll Remember You In My Dreams," his first effort at songwriting. He's proving to be adept at that also, here crafting a song that is at once new and, at the same time, as familiar and as well-worn as any bluegrass standard. There are other highlights, too. Listen to the haunting trio harmony of "II" with Ralph Sr. and John Rigsby on Carter Stanley's "The Angels Are Singing," or "Sea Of Regret," where he effortlessly blends his voice with another of the top singers in the genre, IIIrd Tyme Out's own Russell Moore. Pretty Girls, City Lights shows a level of confidence and maturity that most new artists can only hope for, and is another large step in what will surely be a long and successful career for Ralph Stanley II. And what about those inevitable comparisons? Well, this time, they're positive.
"As I listen to this record," says country star Dwight Yoakam, "I hear the echoes of Carter Stanley, a generation removed, through the voice of Ralph Stanley II."
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