Commercially, Dierks Bentley’s fifth studio album, Up on the Ridge, could be considered a flop. Critically, however, Bentley was praised for his new takes on bluegrass music. His album was released on June 8, 2010 and produced two singles; the title track on April 12, 2010 and “Draw Me a Map” on August 23, 2010. Each single proved to be two of the lowest charting singles Bentley has seen with “Draw Me a Map” being the lowest.
Despite the low commercial success, the critics praise his album and applaud his many, genius collaborations. The Punch Brothers, a rising bluegrass band, appear on three of the twelve songs on the album. They, along with Del McCoury, assist Bentley on his cover of U2’s popular “Pride (In the Name of Love)”. They also appear on Bentley’s “Rovin’ Gambler” and his cover of Bob Dylan’s “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)”. Also collaborating with Bentley is country star Miranda Lambert on the track, “Bad Angel”. She provides listeners with a country style, while Alison Krauss and her background vocals throughout the album provide a bluegrass style. While, his collaborations are good, they are not the standout songs of his album.
The title track off the album and his song “Fallin’ for You” each contain haunting vocals, but each song presents them differently. “Up on the Ridge” talks about running away with a girl for a night of fun: “Won’t you come with me tonight as the moonlight drifts into your eyes. I just want one little kiss when we get high up on the ridge”. Bentley’s lyrics in “Fallin’ for You” talk about his inability of overcoming his feelings toward a woman. Each song is sung in a haunting way, but takes common themes of his country music background and applies them to his new take on bluegrass music.
Other standout songs include the playful track, “Fiddlin’ Around”: “Can’t you hear the music in the wind and see our shadows on the ground? Won’t you come on down? We gonna do a little fiddling’ around”. Also standing out, is his love song, “Draw Me a Map”. He uses distinct wordplay in order to get his feelings across: “You’re my destiny and destination, so understand my desperation”.
As a whole, Bentley’s Up on the Ridge is a unique country-bluegrass album that probably appeals more to the bluegrass audience, as his singles failed to chart highly on the country charts. Critically, it holds an amazing array of collaborations and differentiating song themes. I would recommend this album for any country-lover who is looking for a new take on country music with bluegrass inspirations.
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