Nu-Blu‘s Carolyn Routh is a very humble and modest person. You find that out just seconds into a conversation with her. But she’s very confident when it comes to the band’s just-released disc, All the Way.
“The new album is good, if I’m allowed an opinion,” she said with a laugh. “I am so over-the-top excited about this new CD. We’ve always had wonderful songwriters that have contributed material to our past projects, but on this one, the writing is so stellar across the board. I think fans are going to like it.”
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Making All the Way even more special was the magical way that everything — from the recording process to having performers like Sam Moore and Rhonda Vincent included just all came together. “This album has been the perfect storm. Everything has fallen into place on this one easier than it ever has before. The material was just excellent — every single song. Then, to have Sam and Rhonda on it, it just all fell into place.”
Moore makes an appearance on the musically and lyrically ambitious “Jesus and Jones.” Routh told Billboard that the group was unsure down to the very end of the recording of All the Way if the song would happen or not, but she’s glad it did. “With Sam, we still weren’t even sure we would get the song, then it fell back in our laps. We rushed into the studio and did at the last minute. We wanted to do it as a duet, then we made the connection with Sam — which worked out.”
Another collaboration Routh takes pride in is “That’s What Makes the Bluegrass Play,” which includes Vincent. “I have a good friend in Nashville, Sherrill Blackman, who has been in publishing since 1971. He is always good to send me material. Every national release we’ve done has at least one song he has sent us. There was something about it that made me think of Rhonda the first time I heard it. It sounded like something she might actually record. I emailed her and asked her to consider it. She said to send it to her, and she’d cut it tomorrow. She is so good at what she does. When we got it back, we all were blown away. I think it adds so much to the song.”
For a bluegrass act, Nu-Blu often rolls the dice and takes a few musical chances, such as “Isn’t She,” which she describes as a “Jimmy Buffett meets the Eagles” track. “The first time I heard the demo, I knew Levi (Austin) had to sing it. He loved the song the minute he heard it. That was a fun song to work on vocally with the harmony parts. It’s a little different than anything we’ve done before — a little bit of the beach sound with some great harmonies.”
Lyrically, the centerpiece of the album might be the haunting “Forgiveless,” which was penned by Louisa Branscomb. “She has sent me songs for each project we’ve done, but nothing really worked. She sent me this demo with just her scratch vocal and a guitar. The song is really dark, and I love dark songs — ones that pull you inside yourself and make you think.”
Routh said though she loved the song, she wanted to alter the ending just a little. “At the end of the song, she had a line that gave it a happy ending. I called her back and told her I wanted the song, but I couldn’t have the ending. She said ‘But you don’t want to leave people down, you want to pick them back up.’ I said ‘No, I don’t want it back up. I want to leave it right where it’s at.’ She said ‘OK.’ She’s so easy to work with.” After all, bluegrass etiquette sometimes dictates that the more dark, the better.
The fall plans to be an active one for Nu-Blu, with recent appearance on Huckabee and Imus in the Morning. Concert-wise, they are on the road steady through December and will begin 2015 with a cruise to the Bahamas aboard Carnival Cruise Lines.