Donna Ulisse - Walk This Mountain Down

Born in Hampton Virginia and surrounded by a musical family, Donna made her first appearance singing at the tender age of three when she wandered onto the stage with a bluegrass band and broke out into "Take This Hammer". From that moment until now, there has never been any doubt that she would be creating music. She worked in a local western swing band where she met and married Rick Stanley, being fully indoctrinated into a bluegrass family when Rick's cousin Ralph Stanley, along with the Clinch Mountain Boys performed at their wedding reception. In the 1980's Donna moved to Nashville and stayed busy singing demos for publishers and writers. She has had a busy life as a respected vocalist behind the scenes with her first session as a young background singer on a Jerry Reed album and finding out at the last minute that Reed preferred to sing around the mic with the singers. It was a wonderfully unnerving experience for the young Ulisse. When renowned country songwriter and producer Glenn Sutton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame, it was Ulisse who was called upon to sing some of his hits recorded by Tammy Wynette and Lynn Anderson for the who's who of the music industry and she brought the house down. Fans still remember her as an artist on Atlantic Records where she was signed and released the album "Trouble At The Door" in 1991. The album had three singles and two videos. During this time she appeared on the network TV show "Hot Country Nights," was a guest on "Hee Haw," "Nashville Now" and "Crook and Chase". After Donna's deal on Atlantic Records ended, she turned her attention to songwriting. In time her publisher noticed that when she wrote alone, the songs generally took on a bluegrass feel that was vocally authentic when she sang the demos. The company decided to record a project of these tunes and start a label around this effort which became her 2007 CD release, "When I Look Back." The CD has been enthusiastically received by radio and fans. As her first bluegrass release was gaining momentum, Ulisse stayed busy doing some select dates and focused on making sure she was writing enough new tunes for a follow-up CD at the request of her label. She went back in the studio with producer Keith Sewell in March of 2008 to start the recording process once again with the final result being "Walk This Mountain Down," a new collection of self-penned tunes with an all-star cast of players and guests. Musicians: Acoustic Guitar: Keith Sewell Dobro: Rob Ickes Mandolin & Fiddle: Andy Leftwich Upright Bass: Byron House Banjo: Scott Vestal Harmony Vocals: Claire Lynch, Rick Stanley, Curtis Wright, Jerry Salley, Wendy Buckner Sewell and Keith Sewell REVIEWS: 1."With Walk This Mountain Down, Donna Ulisse establishes herself as one of the most commanding voices in bluegrass music. She wrote or co-wrote every song on the album (a bravura performance in it's own right), and she sings them with a wistful, otherworldly beauty that rolls back time." -Edward Morris, CMT.com 2."Donna apparently doesn't know the meaning of the dreaded 'sophomore slump,' because she's hit this one out of the park and into the next county. Her voice is lush, compelling, full of emotion and never fails to drop the listener dead in his or her tracks. Her songs are thoughtful, tough and hard-hitting. 'Levi Stone' is as haunting, true to life and backwoodsy as they come. Her gospel songs are hopeful, buoyant and full of joy. 'Everything Has Changed,' 'The Key' and 'Walk This Mountain Down' are destined to become gospel classics. The arrangements, augmented by some superlative pickin', really do her material justice, giving it a real punchy bluegrass sound with just a hint of country every now and then. I also especially enjoyed 'Dust to Dust,' 'Lovin' Every Minute,' 'In My Wildest Dreams' and catchy 'Trouble With You.' If this project doesn't elevate Donna into bluegrass super-stardom, I don't know what will. It's a '10' on the high lonesome Richter scale!" ?Dave Higgs, National Public Radio, Nashville, TN host of nationally syndicated show "Bluegrass Breakdown" 3. 'Music is an amazing thing- at once a treasure, a healer and sometimes, a connector between generations. A close friend of mine lost her father recently. It was a loss that was predetermined by doctors over a terrible illness. With only a few months left with her dad, she spent hours upon hours with him in his final weeks and developed an amazing and deeper connection with him with his love of bluegrass music. It was a style of music that she had flirted with liking (she's a big fan of Alison Krauss & Union Station), but in those final days, bluegrass became the blanket of memories that by which will carry on her father's memories and legacy forever. It was the soundtrack of his life, the soundtrack at his service- and most importantly, will trigger an emotional trigger in my friend for all of her days each time she hears a mandolin, dobro or fiddle picked. It was with this mindset that I sat down to listen to the new Donna Ulisse album Walk This Mountain Down being released today- January 20, 2008. This second album for Ulisse is a star-studded bluegrass effort. Produced by Keith Sewell. it includes an all-star cast of players including, Andy Leftwitch, Byron House and Rob Ickes. Walk the Mountain Down is a gorgeous effort from start to finish and should establish Ulisse as a key player in the bluegrass genre. It is the final song on this album that is easily worth the purchase price of the album, however. 'Levi Stone' is the darkest, most equally eloquent haunting and stirring bluegrass story song that I have heard in many years- possibly ever. It's lyrics are moving and it is set to a sound that makes the listener shut out the world and turn an ear to the speaker with concern that you might miss something. It's an exceptional song that rises above everything else on a good album: 'Levi Stone lived by the gospel He taught his child to do the same So when his son took sick that winter He knew he'd be fine once springtime came The boy grew weaker by the hour But Levi Stone never lost faith He told his wife no county doctor Quit your cryin' woman, kneel down and pray Papa, please, a drink of water Wipe the fever from my brow Tell these angels all around me They need to put me down Papa, you tell them I'm in God's hands now' And so it goes with the sound of bluegrass. The beauty of music- and most certainly bluegrass- is that it speaks from the heart and whispers to the soul. Any album can wow you with amazing pickin', and great harmonies- but it's the really great ones that transport you to another place and time and deliver a flood of emotion. Donna Ulisse's Walk This Mountain Down moved me- if you have a heart and a soul- it will move you too.' -Ken Morton, Jr. ThatNashvilleSound.com 4. Faith & Love, Those Tricky Little Devils 'If anyone is poised for a breakout year in bluegrass in '09 it's Donna Ulisse, who could hardly have helped herself more than she does on the Keith Sewell-produced Walk This Mountain Down. For starters she's got a baker's dozen of finely crafted songs to present her, all of which she either wrote or co-wrote, her main collaborators on the co-writes being Marti Rossi and Rick Stanley. Next, take a look at her backing band: Sewell himself is handling acoustic guitar chores; Andy Leftwich is on fiddle and mandolin; Scott Vestal is on banjo; Byron House on upright bass; and Rob Ickes on dobro. The New York Yankees should be so lucky as to afford a team like this, equivalent as it is of the famed Murderer's Row lineup of pinstripe lore. Fans will hear echoes of Rhonda Vincent in Ulisse's keening high lonesome attack and especially in her sturdy belting and crooning, but that's mere coloration; the heart pumping vitality and emotional commitment through her every phrase is that of a singular artist on her way to putting some distance between herself and her contemporaries. You don't have