Reviews

Magazine: Maverick
Author: Alan Cackett
Date: January 2008 Issue
Band: Lilly of the West
Album: Time After Time
Label: Polysound

Delicate Bluegrass-flavored acoustic music that is highly recommended.
A mainstay of European bluegrass music for more than a dozen years, Bulgaria's Lilly Drumeva seam's to improve with time. Recorded in Sofia, for this latest album Lilly has chosen her material wisely, blending traditional songs, pop nuggets and folk tunes. What makes it all work so well is the freshness she brings to songs that frankly, over the years; I've probably heard a good too many times. This is particularly true of Cyndi Lauper's title song, which is given a delicate acoustic makeover. She takes Nancy Griffith's once in a very blue moon and makes it her own and even manages to add a new emotion to John Denver's leaving on a jet plan. Lilly's voice really shines as she sings with confidence and emotion on Cheryl Wheeler's summer fly.
Though Lilly's distinctive and sensitive vocals are the focal point of the album, she has also assembled some very good acoustic musicians to assist. The core band is Lilly on vocals and acoustic guitar, Yassen Vassilev (guitar), Vladimir Michailov (viola), Svoboda Bozduganova (upright bass) and Jesse Brock (mandolin, vocals) with guest players Rayko Pepelanov (guitar), Rossen Hristov (Dobro), Michail Shishkov (upright bass), Tsvetan Vlaykov (electric bass) and Pavlin Malinov (drums) adding to the mix. It is real refreshing to hear some traditional based music that has a contemporary feel to it. A delightful album, that should bring the discerning listener endless hours of listening pleasure.

The Bluegrass Blog

Time After Time, the latest CD from Lilly Of The West, was actually released several months ago, but we had waited for it to become widely available outside of Europe before posting about it on The Bluegrass Blog. Lilly is Lilly Drumeva, the Bulgarian singer and guitarist who not only fronts the band, but also hosts country and bluegrass music programming on Bulgarian TV and radio, and serves on the board of the European Bluegrass Music Association.
On this project, her approach is a bit different than in the past, with respect to both the material and the musicians. The songs are drawn from the repertoire of pop and folk classics, but the arrangements, and Lilly's distinctively understated delivery, clearly distinguish these versions from the familiar original - and many subsequent - recordings.
The title track was a major pop hit for Cindy Lauper, with other selections like Leaving On A Jet Plane, Just Once in A Very Blue Moon, The End Of The World and All I Have To Do Is Dream having also been radio hits over roughly a fifty year span. Folk favorites The Water Is Wide and A Walk In The Irish Rain are also included, along with one traditional Bulgarian folk song, Oblache Le Bialo.
Instead of putting together a band from among Europe's top bluegrass players, Drumeva picked prominent classical musicians and gave them a crash course in the ways of acoustic/bluegrass string music. American grasser Jesse Brock, who spent much of 2006 in Europe, plays mandolin, with Drumeva on guitar, Svoboda Bozduganova on bass, Yassen Vassilev on nylon string guitar, and in another departure from the norm, Vladimir Michailov on viola.
The arrangements have a subtle, almost restrained feel throughout; you might even describe it as parlor string music. With no banjo, the music is less aggressive than more traditional bluegrass-influenced music, but the impact of where Mr. Monroe's music has gone this past 60 years is clear.
You can hear audio samples from all but one of the CD's 11 tracks on CD Baby, where you can also purchase the album as either digital downloads or an audio CD.

Review in Traditional Music Maker - Nov/Dec 2001

"It was on the now defunct CMR (Country Music Radio For Europe) that I was first introduced to Lilly Drumeva and her band, Lilly Of The West. CMR, like Radio Caroline, beamed out across Europe via the Astra Satellite and Lilly's home country, Bulgaria, could receive the station. Eventually, I received a CD from Lilly and her band and it was 'Dear & Kind.'

I was immediately impressed at the level of musicianship and devotion to traditional American music, as well as the Celtic strains in evidence. Lilly made a guest appearance on CMR at the same time as Australia's Lynn Bowtell and, whilst it was essentially Lynn,s spot, I pulled in Lilly Drumeva to sing a duet and an impromptu Will The Circle Be Unbroken' proved to be one of those magic moments in live radio.

Lilly Drumeva now lives in London and her first album has been revitalised as a current UK release. Bluegrass music - and this is what Lilly Of The West are essentially all about seems to transcend geographical boundaries and, in the hand of sensitive musicians, tends to be a common language. There exists here a total understanding of traditional British/American music and the slightly 'accented' English seems to add to the CDs overall appeal. It also helps that Lilly Drumeva is a beautiful woman, but, unlike so many of her Nashville counterparts, is a real musician and one who is able to interpret traditional American music in such a distinctive way. There seems to be a common ground between the music of Bulgaria - Lilly's native land -and the Bluegrass music of Kentuck and it manifests itself perfectly throughout this wonderful album. There is something of Canada's Rankin Family about Lilly Of The West, in their experimentation with Celtic sounds and, indeed, Lilly turns in a moving and wholly sympathetic rendition of Raylene Rankin's 'Gillis Mountain,' while still being able to belt out an uptempo footstomper like Gretchen Peters' 'If Wishes Were Horses.' It's also extremely refreshing to hear Bulgarian folk songs like 'Sto Mi E Milo I Drago' and 'Daichovo Horo' being given the Bill Monroe treatment.

I know that Lilly and her band didn't find it easy in Bulgaria and hope that now her fortunes have changed and she is living here in the UK, this delightful lady finds success.

This particular album was first recorded in Studio 5, at the National Palace of Culture, in Sofia and mixed and mastered by Ivo Yanev and Roumyana Stoyanov, with cover design by Marianna Tcholakova. It should also be mentioned that Tsvetan Vlaykov, played bass and added vocals; Rossen Hristov, picked banjo, played Dobro and added vocals and Rayko Pepelanov, added extra guitar, mandolin and vocals. Lilly played acoustic guitar.
Highly recommended to lovers of real country music."

-Bryan Chalker

What they say about Lilly and the "Lilly of the West" band