Craig Market, Thomm Jutz, Nowhere to Hide This collaboration is pared down to two guitars and two songwriters, but in this case that’s all that’s needed. By taking such a simple approach, Craig Market and Thomm Jutz, two of the best writers working in the Bluegrass/Americana field, wanted to directly showcase their twelve original songs here, but in so doing, they squeezed just about everything out of the format that can be gathered. I have been a fan of Craig Market’s for a long time, before we ever wrote a song together. His songs are some of the most-recorded and memorable of the bluegrass canon of the past 20 years. He’s a very thoughtful writer, a master at finding the best way to phrase an idea. I always thought his vocals were some of the best I’d ever heard, a distinctive baritone sometimes bluesy, sometimes mournful, always capturing the soul and spirit of the song. He’s no slouch as an instrumentalist either; although he only plays guitar on this stripped-down effort, his tone and touch are nearly as good as his tastefulness, and I know he is a fine mandolin and banjo player as well. Thomm Jutz has a historian’s eye and a poet’s soul in his writing. He’s a fine guitarist with great timing, and the two instruments find both the requisite space to sound different and work together often in sublimely effective harmony. It's hard to imagine a more tasteful bed for these fine songs. His voice matches Craig’s evenly and as they point out in the title track, though there’s “nowhere to hide” in such a naked format, it also presents opportunities. A good example is the flowing melodies of both “Indigo Blue” and “Thunder” that perfectly match Craig’s lush vocals, all within a War theme. It’s hard to imagine a more effective setting for these highly effective songs. But that’s equally true of the uptempo “Midnight 402,” which proves the train song can be utterly modern and nostalgic simultaneously in the right hands. Chord changes often come quickly and unexpectedly here, and they always accent and match the lyrics. It’s a fine art, and the tightly crafted melodies follow easily, the way they do inside the hills and valleys of the best chord progressions—Lennon and McCartney come to mind. A big comparison, but there are some great songs here. Other times, they remind me of another powerhouse songwriting duo, Darrell Scott and Tim O’Brien, although Craig and Thomm create a more unified sound, and these songs feel like collaborations in the truest sense of the word. “Too Late” sums up everything for me here in this regard. In short, if you’ve been looking for a “true” duet record with great songs, singing, ideas, melodies and tasteful guitar teamwork, your search is over. Tim Stafford/IBMA Songwriter of the Year 2014 Kingsport, TN