Rounder

At this point in their ever-rising career, the Steep Canyon Rangers are inextricably linked in the minds of the music-loving public with their high-profile boss and collaborator Steve Martin. He’s officially nowhere to be found on Tell the Ones I Love, but in his absence, you can’t help but notice that the Rangers have cultivated their own wry musical wit. The quintet made the pilgrimage to the late Levon Helm’s studio to record a dozen solid originals with Larry Campbell, emerging with a few fresh bluegrass romps – “Lay Myself Down” is a fine one – and a bunch of jaunty excursions into blues, country and roots-pop territory. Standouts like “Camellia” and “Stand And Deliver” – two of several tracks that feature drums – muster sprightly, down-home grooves, while the finger-style guitar number “Hunger” is a swinging showcase for their vocal interplay. The loose-limbed warmth of all this stuff suits the Rangers even better than the suits they wear onstage.