| Slantmagazine |
 Dierks Bentley has worked hard to build his artistic cachet over the course of his career, and the result is that Up on the Ridge includes a simply extraordinary roster of collaborators. Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Tim O'Brien, Sonya Isaacs, and Chris Stapleton (formerly of the Steeldrivers) all provide expert harmony vocals, and Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson, Del McCoury, Kris Kristofferson, and the Punch Brothers all perform proper duets. With that kind of a lineup, it isn't a stretch to say he might be the least talented person on his own album.
That isn't meant as a slight against Bentley. He may not have the broadest vocal range or most powerful voice, but Bentley is an effective, thoughtful singer who's smart enough to know his own limitations. On their surprising cover of U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)," Bentley wisely lets McCoury use his plaintive mountain tenor to hit the high notes in the chorus while he handles the song's verses with both restraint and genuine pathos. Bentley is even better on rowdier cuts like "Rovin' Gambler" and the forceful title track, and his tongue-in-cheek phrasing brings a bit of levity to standouts like the bitter "You're Dead to Me" and the randy "Fiddlin' Around."
Still, as strong as his own performances are, Bentley is often upstaged by his cohorts. His reading of Bob Dylan's "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" is pensive and melancholy, but Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek and presently of the Punch Brothers, is a more demonstrative, emotional singer. The highlight of the set is "Bad Angel," a lighthearted song about half-assed attempts to shrug off vices. Bentley sells his verse about smoking just fine, but Johnson's consideration of gambling is rougher and more lived-in, and Lambert just flat-out kills her lines about drinking and provides deft high harmonies in the song's chorus. (A year's worth of touring in large venues in support of acts like Brad Paisley has given Lambert's voice a sexy rasp that is perfectly matched to just about everything she sings, and "Angel" falls right into her considerable wheelhouse.)...full text |
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| Ew |
| Dierks Bentley epitomizes the New Nashville ideal, but on Up on the Ridge he goes old-school with a set of acoustic bluegrass jams. Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson show up in cred-bestowing cameos, as does bluegrass giant Del McCoury, who lends vocals to a spine-tingling rendition of U2's ''Pride (In the Name of Love).'' B+...full text |
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| Allmusic |
| Dierks Bentley drifted into predictability on his fourth album Feel That Fire, so his detour into progressive bluegrass on 2010’s Up on the Ridge is a bit of shock. Ditching much of the polish and precision that encumbered Feel That Fire, Bentley strips back to acoustics and brings in a host of guests, notably the Punch Brothers, who play on a quarter of the album, Miranda Lambert, Kris Kristofferson, and Del McCoury, whose keening voice soars on a cover of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love).” The very presence of a U2 song suggests that this is not a traditional bluegrass album, either in its content — Bentley balances a sharp version of “Rovin’ Gambler” with a terrific rearrangement of Bob Dylan’s “Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)” — or in its approach, as he sometimes puts picking in the backseat, letting the instruments strum sweetly as he croons. These cuts may not have the snap of classic bluegrass, but they do give Up on the Ridge a sense of country crossover, illustrating that Bentley is shrewd enough to walk the line between commercial and artistic concerns, but the best testament to his skill arrives on numbers like the loping, bluesy “Bad Angel” (the Lambert duet), the sprightly “You’re Dead to Me,” and flinty, funny “Bottle to the Bottom” (with Kristofferson), songs that draw from tradition with a modern sensibility, illustrating Bentley’s skillful synthesis of past and present....full text |
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