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  • 2024 CD Reviews
    • Dalton Mills
  • 2022 CD Reviews
    • Ol' Savannah - They lie in wait
    • Erika Lewis - A walk around the sun
    • The Miners - Megunticook
    • Mama's Broke - Narrow Line
    • Hezekiah Goode - Humansville
  • 2020 C.D Reviews
    • November 2020 >
      • William Elliott Whitmore - I'm with you
  • 2019 C.D Reviews
    • December 2019 >
      • Them Coulee Boys - Die happy
      • Resonant Rogues - Autumn of the World
      • Erik Koskinen - Burning the deal
    • November 2019 >
      • Lasers Lasers Birmingham - Warning
    • September 2019 >
      • Will Beeley - Highways & Heart Attacks
      • Tui - Pretty little mister
    • August 2019 >
      • Rachel Harrington - Hush the wild horses
      • Steel Blossoms
      • Kelly Hunt - Even the Sparrow
      • The Lowdown Drifters - Last call for dreamers
    • July 2019 >
      • Abigail Lapell - Getaway
      • Jonathan Warren and the Billy Goats - Cletus
      • Jamie Freeman - Dreams about falling
    • June 2019 >
      • The Howlin' Brothers - Still Howlin'
      • Daniel Meade & the Flying Mules - Live Mules
      • Nicholas Mudd
      • Son Volt - Union
    • May 2019 >
      • An American Forrest - O Bronder, Donder, Yonder
      • Allison De Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves
      • Foghorn Stringband - Rock Island Grange
    • April 2019 >
      • Tylor & the Train Robbers - Best of the worst kind
      • The Oldtime Stringband - Pretty little horses
    • March 2019 >
      • Carson McHone - Carousel
      • JP Harris - Sometimes dogs bark at nothing
  • 2018 C.D Reviews
    • October 2018 >
      • The Hot Seats - Stupid mountain too big
      • Luke Tuchscherer - Pieces
    • September 2018 >
      • Clay Parker and Jodi James - The lonesomest sound that can sound
      • Davis Kathriner - Losing habits
      • Green Rock River Band - Edgelands
    • August 2018 >
      • Curse of Lono - As I fell
      • Melissa Carper & Rebecca Patek - Brand new old-time songs
      • Kendl Winter - Stumbler's business
      • Carter Sampson - Lucky
    • July 2018 >
      • Cold Tone Harvest - After you
      • Oliver the Crow
      • Dan Israel - You're free
      • Jeb Barry and the Pawn Shop Saints - Texas etc.
      • The Mammals - Sunshiner
    • June 2018 >
      • Gwenifer Raymond - You were never much of a dancer
      • Dusty Rust - Stolen horse
      • The Tillers
      • Anna & Elizabeth - The invisible comes to us
      • Wesley Randolph Eader - Highway winds
      • Vivian Leva - Time is everything
      • Gareth Owen - Rolling by
      • The Local Honeys - Little girls actin' like men
    • May 2018 >
      • Lonesome Ace Stringband - When the sun comes up
      • Old Crow Medicine Show - Volunteer
      • My Darling Clementine - Still testifying
      • Michael McDermott - Out from under
      • Foghorn Leghorn - All at sea
      • The Vagaband - Something wicked this way comes
      • The Nowhere Brothers - Down Life Boulevard
    • April 2018 >
      • Charley Crockett - Lonesome as a shadow
      • June Star -East on Green
      • Daniel Meade - When was the last time
      • 3hattrio - Lord of the desert
      • Jamie Freeman - Hasia dreams
      • Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers - Don't think about tomorrow night
      • Mashville - Another place
    • March 2018 >
      • Dean Owens - Southern wind
      • The Sumner Brothers - To Elliott in remembrance of Wolf
      • Red Pine Timber Company - Sorry for the good times
      • Ash Grey - Chickenwire
      • Orphan Colours - All on red
      • Steph Cameron - Daybreak over Jackson Street
    • February 2018 >
      • James Edwyn & the Borrowed Band - High fences
      • A Different Thread - High Time (e.p)
      • Penny Black Remedy - Maintaining dignity in awkward situations
      • Sleepy Driver - Sugar skull
    • January 2018 >
      • Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards - California calling
      • Thunder and Rain - Start Believing
      • The Winterlings - American son
      • Wild Ponies - Galax
      • Tyler Childers - Purgatory
  • 2017 C.D Reviews
    • December 2017 >
      • Orphan Brigade - Heart of the Cave
      • The Strange Blue Dreams
      • Dori Freeman - Letters never read
      • Luke Tuchscherer - Always be true
      • Jeremy Pinnell - Ties of blood and affection
      • Prinz Grizzley - Come on in
    • November 2017 >
      • RT 'n' the 44s - Both hands on the bottle
      • The Wynntown Marshals - After all these years
      • Heather Lynne Horton - Don't mess with Mrs. Murphy
      • The Mixus Brothers - To hang me high
      • The Coal Creek Boys - The wolf and the bear
    • October 2017 >
      • Big Sadie - Keep me waiting
      • When Rivers Meet - Liberty
      • Ryan Koenig - Two different worlds
      • Daniel Wylie's Cosmic Rough Riders - Scenery for Dreamers
      • Elliott Brood - Ghost Gardens
      • Sarah Jane Scouten - When the bloom falls from the rose
      • Red Moon Joe _ Time and Life
    • September 2017 >
      • Chris Blevins - Better than alone
      • Steve Welner - Sweet simple life
      • Corn Potato String Band - Good job everybody
      • Murder Murder - Wicked lines and veins
      • Slaid Cleaves - Ghost on the car radio
      • Zoe & Cloyd - Eyes brand new
      • Hope in High Water - Never settle
    • August 2017 >
      • Over the Moon - Moondancer
      • House & Land
      • The Whiskey Charmers - The Valley
      • Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters
      • Oh Susanna - A girl in teen city
      • Zane Campbell - Ola Wave
      • Amelia Curran - Watershed
    • July 2017 >
      • Pierce Edens - Stripped down, gussied up
      • John Alexander - Of these lands
      • Lauren Barth - Forager
      • Amber Cross - Savage on the downhill
      • Zephaniah Ohora and the 18 Wheelers - This Highway
      • Front Country - Other love songs
    • June 2017 >
      • Curse of Lono - Severed
      • Scott Cook - Further down the line
      • John Craigie - No Rain, No Rose
      • The Harmed Brothers
      • Hillfolk Noir - Junkerpunch
    • May 2017 >
      • Ezio - Daylight Moon
      • Nathan Bell - Love>Fear
      • The Long Haul - Beautiful Lies
      • K Phillips - Dirty Wonder
      • The Most Ugly Child - Copper & Lace
      • Dan Tuffy - Songs from Dan
      • Lil' Lost Lou
      • Donald Byron Wheatley - Moondogs and Mad Dogs
      • Pete Mancini - Foothill Freeway
    • April 2017 >
      • Steve Hussey & Jake Eddy - The Miller Girl
      • Secret Emchy Society - The stars fall shooting into Twangsville
      • Best of the Old Crow Medicine Show
      • Son of the Velvet Rat - Dorado
      • Ags Connolly - Nothin' Unexpected
      • The Delta Ladies - Hillbilly Trance
      • Bill Kirchen & Austin De Lone - Transatlantica
      • Rayna Gellert - Workin's too hard
    • March 2017 >
      • Real Sharp - Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers
      • Daniel Meade - Shooting stars and tiny tears
      • The Harmed Brothers - A lovely conversation
      • June Star - Sleeping with the light on
      • Travis Linville - Up ahead
      • Robert Vincent - I'll make the most of my sins
      • Karen Jonas - Country Songs
      • Elouise - Deep Water
    • February 2017 >
      • Sea Star - Never go back
      • Hat Fitz & Cara - After the Rain
      • Chuck Westmoreland
      • Pappy Fisher & his Old Time Entertainers - The little old log cabin down the lane
      • David Simard - The Heavy Wait
      • Stevie Ray Latham - Winter in London
      • Red Sammy & Some Charming Trespassers - True Beliver
      • The Waydown Wanderers
    • January 2017 >
      • Adrian & Meredith - More than a little
      • Jack Grelle - Got dressed up to be let down
      • Bap Kennedy - Reckless Heart
      • Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms - Innocent Road
      • Trevor Alguire - Perish in the light
      • Pony Hunt - Heart Creek
      • Justin Wells - Dawn in the distance
      • Furnace Mountain - Shadow of Plenty
      • Zach Schmidt - The day we lost the war
  • 2016 C.D. Reviews
    • December 2016 >
      • Goat Roper Rodeo Band - Cosmic country blue
      • Wicklow Attwater - The fallen Flame String Band LP
      • J Shogren Shanghai'd - Why so blue, bird
      • Mascot Theory - Trust and bones
      • Red Tail Ring - Fall away blues
      • Southern Tenant Folk Union - Join Forces
      • Martha Fields - Southern White Lies
      • Anna Elizabeth Laube - Tree
      • Eliza Mary Doyle - It ain't what it seems
    • November 2016 >
      • Courtney Marie Andrews - Honest life
      • Western Flyers - The Wild Blue Yonder
      • The Jigantics - Seconds out
      • The Vaudevillian - Bringing Satan Down
      • The Youngers - Picture of you
      • 3hattrio - Solitaire
      • The High Bar Gang - Someday the heart will trouble the mind
      • The Lucky Strikes - The motion and the moving on
      • David Waddell - The last of the outlaws
    • October 2016 >
      • Waiting for Henry - A town called Patience
      • Evening Bell - Dying stars
      • The Honeycutters - On the ropes
      • Vicky Emerson - Wake me when the wind dies down
      • Curse of Lono (e.p)
      • Country Lips - 'Till the daylight comes
      • Screamin' Miss Jackson & the Slap Ya Mama Big Band - I heard the voice of a donut
      • Dana Immanuel & the Stolen Band - Comw with me
      • Pine Street Ramblers - Hazy Shades of Gold
    • September 2016 >
      • California Feetwarmers - Silver seas
      • Them Coulee Boys - Dancing in the dim light
      • The Stray Birds - Magic Fire
      • Blue Moon Marquee - Gypsy Blues
      • Mark Harrison - Turpentine
      • Richie and Rosie - Tractor beam
      • Martha L. Healy - To be free (e.p)
      • Kalyn Fay - Bible belt
      • Kaia Kater - Nine Pin
    • August 2016 >
      • Tia McGraff - Crazy Beautiful
      • Jacob Miller & the Bridge City Crooners - Pacific Ragtime
      • Jesse Furay Lynch
      • The Devil Makes Three - Redemption & Ruin
      • Oldtime Stringband - Cat's got the measles
      • The Georgia Shackleton Trio - The dog who would not be washed
      • Corpse Reviver - Volume 2: Dry bones
      • The Buffalo Skinners - Cease your dreaming
      • Hubert Murray - Shorten the Road
      • Lilly Hiatt - Royal blue
    • July 2016 >
      • The Lowest Pair - Fern girl & ice man
      • The Dead Tongues - Montana
      • Western Centuries - Weight of the world
      • Luke Whittemore - Northern Town (e.p)
      • BJ Barham - Rockingham
      • Keegan McInroe - Uncouth Pilgrims
      • The Danberrys - Give and Receive
      • Jonathan Warren & the Billy Goats - Bless my soul
    • June 2016 >
      • Mean Mary - Sweet
      • Thomas Hine - Some motion or novelty
      • The Lowest Pair - Uncertain as it is uneven
      • Farmington Hill - More rock than eagle block
      • Michael McDermott - Willow Springs
      • Brooks Williams - My turn now
      • Rod Melancon - LA14
      • Wink Burcham - Cleveland Summer Nights
      • Rodeo Gypsy - Southern Proof (e.p)
      • Andy Ferrell - At home and in Nashville
    • May 2016 >
      • Corn Potato String Band - Put on your old grey bonnet
      • Daniel Meade and the Flying Mules - Let me off at the bottom
      • Eli West - The Both
      • Steve Dawson - Solid states & loose ends
      • June Star - You're still here
      • Carrie Rodriguez - Lola
      • Tom Blackwell - Tyrone the Gun
      • Hackensaw Boys - Charismo
    • April 2016 >
      • Carter Sampson - Wilder Side
      • The Westies - Six on the out
      • Hogie - River of Mercy
      • Cale Tyson - Carelss Soul
      • Glade City Rounders - Don't get weary
      • Evie Ladin Band - Jump the Fire
      • Norrie McCuloch - These Mountain Blues
      • The Orphan Brigade - Soundtrack to a Ghost Story
      • Gunther Brown - North Wind
      • Rod Picott - Fortune
    • March 2016 >
      • Cam Penner - Sex & Politics
      • Matt Patershuk - I was so fond of you
      • Sheesham and Lotus and Son - '78
      • The Paul Benjaman Band - Sneaker
      • Skillet Licorice
      • 3HatTrio - Dark Desrt Night
      • Nathan Bell - I don't do this for love, I do this for love
      • Alex Culbreth - The High Country
      • Danny Barnes - Got Myself Together (Ten years later)
    • February 2016 >
      • Malcolm Holcomb - Another Black Hole
      • The Boxcar Boys - Cicada Ball
      • Dori Freeman
      • Nouveaux Honkies - Blues for Country
      • Austin Lucas - Between the Moon and the Mid West
      • The Curst Sons - The Jumping Flea
      • Rita Hosking - Frankie and the no go road
      • Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons - Take Yo' Time
    • January 2016 >
      • Mashville - Tripping On Wires
      • The Delta Jacks - Trouble Ahead
      • Peewee Moore - American Outlaw
      • Holcombe Family String Band - Ragtime! Hokum! Western Swing!
      • The Honeycutters - Me Oh My
      • Ben Rogers - Blood red yonder
      • Paul McClure - Songs for Anyone
      • Greg Trooper - Live at the Rock Room
      • Richie Syrett - From The Feet Up
  • 2015 C.D. Reviews
    • December 2015 >
      • Dennis Ellsworth - Romatic As It Gets
      • Rollie Tussing and the Midwest Territory Band
      • DH Lawrence & the Vaudeville Skiffle Show - Sons and Lovers
      • Brent Best - Your Dog Champ
      • The Slocan Ramblers - Coffee Creek
      • WillieTea Taylor - Knuckleball Prime
      • Danni Nicholls - Mockingbird Lane
    • November 2015 >
      • Feral - Aromatic Bitters
      • Butchers Blind - A Place In America
      • Amanda Pearcy - An Offering
      • Finnders & Youngberg - Eat The Moon
      • Self Help Group - Dead Stars
      • 10 String Symphony - Weight of the World
      • The Sumner Brothers - The Hell In Your Mind
      • Bumper Jacksons - Too Big World
    • October 2015 >
      • Woody Pines
      • The Resonant Rogues - Here & Gone Again
      • Honey Dewdrops - Tangled Country
      • Sugarcane Jane - Dirt Road's End
      • Stevie Agnew & Hurricane Road - Bad Blood & Whiskey
      • Drunken Prayer - The Devil and the Blues
      • Case Hardin - Colours Simple
      • The Grahams - Glory Bound
    • September 2015 >
      • The Glade City Rounders - They're After Us
      • Dubl Handi - Morning In A New Machine
      • Squirrel Butter - Chestnuts
      • Hillfolk Noir - Pop Songs For Elk
      • Sean Taylor - The only good addiction is love
      • Adam Hill - Old Paint
      • Mike & Ruthy Band - Bright As You Can
      • Don Gallardo - Hickory
      • Kaia Kater - Sorrow Bound
    • August 2015 >
      • Weldon Henson - Honky Tonk Frontier
      • Simon Stanley Ward
      • Murder Murder - From The Stillhouse
      • Anna & Elizabeth
      • The Piedmont Brothers Band - Compasses and Maps
      • J.P. Whipple - Moab
    • July 2015 >
      • Daniel Romano - If I've Only One Time Askin'
      • Eastbound Jesus - Hollerin'
      • Wynntown Marshals - The End Of The Golden Age
      • Trout Steak Revival - Brighter Every Day
      • John Coinman - Already Are
      • John Moreland - High on Tulsa heat
      • Deer Run Drifters - Restless Youth
    • June 2015 >
      • Memphis Dawls - Rooted in the bone
      • Kenneth J Nash - The Fall of Eden
      • The Westies - West Side Stories
      • Coal Creek Boys - Out West
      • Porchlight Smoker - Water Into Sand
      • Anthony Toner - Miles & Weather
      • Joe Fletcher - You've Got The Wrong Man
      • Foghorn Stringband - Devil In The Seat
      • The Rubber Knife Gang - Broken Lines
    • May 2015 >
      • Johnny Dowd - That's your wife on the back of my horse
      • Wink Burcham - Cowboy Heroes & Old Folk Songs
      • Pharis & Jason Romero - A Wanderer I'll Stay
      • Delta Ladies - Refugee
      • Wookalily - All the waiting while
      • Wrinkle Neck Mules - I never thought it would go this far
    • April 2015 >
      • Goodnight Texas - Uncle John Farquhar
      • June Star - Pull Awake
      • The Whiskey Charmers
      • I Draw Slow - White Wave Chapel
      • Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons - Take yo' time
    • March 2015 >
      • Jim Keaveny - Out Of Time
      • David Corley - Available Light
      • Mulligan Brothers - Via Portland
      • New American Farmers - The Farmacology Sessions
    • February 2015 >
      • The Stray Birds - Best Medicine
      • Red Pine Timber Company - Different Lonesome
      • Billy Strings and Don Julin - Fiddle Tune X
      • Denver - Rowdy Love
    • January 2015 >
      • Daniel Meade - Keep Right Away
      • The Mascot Theory - Hand Me Down Miracles
      • Front Country - Sake of the Sound
      • Ags Connolly - How About Now
      • The Wellfeds - Short Man Syndrome
  • 2014 C.D. Reviews
    • December 2014 >
      • Oh Susanna - Namedropper
      • Trailerpark Idlers - Fifty Gallons of Lightning
      • Doug Seegers - Going Down The River
      • The Oldtime Stringband - Chicken Crows For Day
      • American Thread - Songs in the war
      • Mario Matteoli - Hard Luck Hittin'
    • November 2014 >
      • J.P. Whipple - Thinking of you .... staring at the power lines
      • Good Luck Mountain Too
      • Bob Wayne - Back To The Camper
      • Blue Moon Marquee - Lonesome Ghosts
      • Joseph Huber - The Hanging Road
      • Hook and Anchor
      • Mr Plow - Not the beginning, not the end
      • Grifters & Shills - Watershed
      • Barnyard Stompers - Highway Gospel
    • October 2014 >
      • The High Stepping Music of Sheesham, Lotus & Son
      • The Loudermilks
      • Cale Tyson - High On Lonesome
      • Girls, Guns and Glory - Good Luck
      • Sleepy Driver - Ignatius
      • Locust Honey String Band - Never Let Me Cross Your Mind
      • Fire Mountain - All Dies Down
      • Betty and the Boy - The Wreckage
      • Red Molly - The Red Album
    • September 2014 >
      • Fish & Bird - Something In The Ether
      • Ben Glover - Atlantic
      • Petunia - Inside Of You
      • Ben Rogers - Love Stories, Vol. 1
      • The Howlin' Brothers - Trouble
      • Anna Tivel - Before Machines
      • Three Times Bad - American Sojourn
      • Vagabondage - Slow Room Bar
    • August 2014 >
      • Patrolled by Radar - Cool Your Jets
      • Luke Tuchscherer - You get so alone at times that it just makes sense
      • Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman - We Made It Home
      • Melissa Ruth & the Likely Stories - Riding Mercury
      • Introducing Fife & Drom
      • Hans Chew - Life and Love
      • New Madrids - Through The Heart Of Town
    • July 2014 >
      • Scott 'Snake' Miller - After Church
      • Hannah Aldridge - Razor Wire
      • Mark Harrison - The World Outside
      • The Annie Ford Band
      • Bronwynne Brent - Stardust
    • June 2014 >
      • Greg Trooper - Incident On Willow Street
      • Scott H. Biram - Nothin' But Blood
      • Brandon Isaac - Here On Earth
      • Just A Season
      • Ellie Ford - Show Night In
    • May 2014 >
      • Hatful of Rain - The Morning Key
      • The Knights of Mentis - New Pound Coin
      • Ash Gray - Once I Got Burned
      • Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners
    • April 2014 >
      • The Deer Run Drifters - Appalachian Blues
      • Paul McClure - Smiling From The Floor Up
      • 100 Mile House - Wait With Me
      • Redlands Palomino Company - Broken Carelessly
      • Holy Moly - Brothers Keepers
    • March 2014 >
      • Peter James Millson - Sweet The Love That Meets Return
      • The Don Darlings
      • The Kestor Stringband - The Moorgrass Album
      • Gregory Hoskins and Gary Craig - The map of above the map of below
      • Chuck Lemonds - The Rivers Call
    • February 2014 >
      • Dan Baker - Pistol In My Pocket
      • Nathan Bell - Blood Like A River
      • Possessed By Paul James - There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely
      • Stevie Agnew - Wreckin' Yard
    • January 2014 >
      • J.B. Beverley - Stripped To The Root
      • Sean Pinchin - Rust Bucket
      • James Keyes - The Middle
  • 2013 C.D. Reviews
    • December 2013 >
      • Ashleigh Flynn - A Million Stars
      • The Harmed Brothers - Better Days
      • Eric Strickland and the B Sides - I'm Bad For You
      • Danny and the Champions of the World - Stay True
    • November 2013 >
      • Israel Nash Gripka - Israel Nash's Rain Plan
      • Wooden Horse - This Kind Of Trouble
      • Jamie Freeman Agreement - 100 Miles From Town
      • Tim Grimm - The Turning Point
      • Horseshoes & Hand Grenades - This Old Town
      • J.D. Wilkes & the Dirt Daubers - Wild Moon
      • Barnyard Stompers - Outlaws With Chainsaws
    • October 2013 >
      • Michael Meeking & the Lost Souls - Ride On
      • The Coloradas - Big Empty
      • Benjamin Folke Thomas - Too Close To Here
      • The Piedmont Brothers Band - Back To The Country
      • Carolina Still - The Color Of Rust
      • My Darling Clementine - The Reconciliation?
      • Ol' Savannah - Death On The Mountain
      • Kendl Winter and the Summer Gold - It Can Be Done
    • September 2013 >
      • Austin Lucas - Stay Reckless
      • Crow Quill Night Owls - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
      • Eastbound Jesus - Northern Rock
      • Sheesham, Lotus & Son - 1929
      • John Moreland - In The Throes
      • Underhill Rose - Something Real
      • Red Tail Ring - The Heart's Swift Foot
      • Scott Cook - One More Time Around
    • August 2013 >
      • Jack Marks - Blues Like These
      • Foghorn Leghorn - Not Before Time
      • Dennis Ellsworth - Dusk Dreams
      • Michael & the Lonesome Playboys - Bottle Cap Sky
      • The Tillers - Hand On The Plow
      • Hezekiah Goode - Two Billion Acres Of Salt
      • The Carper Family - Old Fashioned Gal
      • The Wynntown Marshalls - The Long Haul
      • The Bills - Yes Please
    • July 2013 >
      • Jeffrey Foucault & Cold Satellite - Cavalcade
      • Hillfolk Noir - What's That hat For
      • Jeff Finlin - My Moby Dick
      • Sturgill Simpson - High Top Mountain
      • Leeroy Stagger - Truth Be Sold
      • Waiting For Henry - Ghosts and Compromise
      • Chastity Brown - Back Road Highways
      • The Revelers
    • June 2013 >
      • Charlie Parr - Barnswallow
      • Rattleshack
      • Susan James - Driving Toward The Sun
      • Desolation Angels - Hell Or Highwater
      • Cara Luft - Darlingford
      • Jenny Ritter - Bright Mainland
      • Sean Burns - Cold Beans and Broken Eggs
      • Red Moon Joe - Midnight Trains
      • Introducing the Wagon Tales
      • Chicago Farmer - Backenforth, IL.
      • J.P. Whipple - Racket
      • Christa Couture - The Living Record
      • Corpse Reviver - Vol.1: I'll Be Rested When The Roll Is Called
    • May 2013 >
      • Michael Tarbox - Works and Days
      • The Miners - Miners Rebellion
      • Danni Nicholls - A Little Redemption
      • Glenn Jones - My Garden State
      • Old Man Markley - Down Side Up
      • Cam Penner - To Build A Fire
      • Piedmont Brothers Band - PBBIII
      • Vanessa Peters - The Burn the Truth the Lies
      • Dubl Handi - Up Like The Clouds
      • Woody Pines - Rabbit's Motel
      • Anders & Kendall - Wild Chorus
      • The Stray Birds
      • Phil Lee - The Fall & Further Decline of the Mighty King of Love
    • April 2013 >
      • Jarrod Dickenson - The Lonesome Traveler
      • Frankenpine - In that black sky
      • Hayward Williams - Haymaker
      • Annabelle Chvostek - Rise
      • Kevin Breit & the Upper York Mandolin Orchestra - Field Recording
      • Pharis & Jason Romero - Long Gone Out West Blues
      • DH Lawrence & the Vaudeville Skiffle Show - Escape This Wicked Life
      • Rebecca Pronsky - Only Daughter
      • Rita Hosking - Little Boat
    • March 2013 >
      • J.P. Whipple - Ghosts
      • Daniel Romano - Come Cry With Me
      • Thomas Hine - Forgive My Future
      • Adam Kiesling - Unclouded Day
      • J.J. Schultz - Carolina
      • Jack Klatt - Love Me Lonely
      • Rhubarb Whiskey - Same Sad End
      • Free Range Folk - 444
      • The Give 'Em Hell Boys - Barn Burner
      • David Hope - Scarecrow
      • Jimbo Mathus & the Tri-State Coalition - White Buffalo
    • February 2012 >
      • The Black Twig Pickers - Rough Carpenters
      • Rachel Brooke - A Killer's Dream
      • Amanda Pearcy - Royal Street
      • Rob Heron & the Teapad Orchestra - Money isn't Everything
      • Thea Hopkins - Lilac Sky
      • Rob Lutes - The Bravest Birds
      • Kevin Bowe & the Okemah Prophets - Natchez Trace
      • Ben Bedford - What We Lost
      • J Shogren & Shanghai'd - God Bless These Crooked Little Songs
      • Self Help Group - Not Waving But Drowning
      • Southern Tenant Folk Union - Hello Cold Goodbye Sun
      • Cameron Brothers Band - Ratios
    • January >
      • Lindi Ortega - Cigarettes & Truckstops
      • The Earl Brothers - Outlaw Hillbilly
      • Mudgrass - Just That Way
      • Leon Hunt N-Tet -- Farewell Blues
      • Old Man Luedecke - Tender Is The Night
      • Vera Van Heeringen - Standing Tall
      • Bean Pickers Union - Better The Devil
      • The Locust Honey String Band - He Ain't No Good >
        • Dirty River Boys - Science of Flight
  • 2012 C.D. Reviews
    • December >
      • Some Dark Holler - Hollow Chest
      • Rosie Flores - Working Girl's Guitar
      • Otto Mobile & the Moaners - Restless Sun
      • Caroline Herring - Camilla
      • The Mystix - Mighty Tone
      • Melissa Ruth & the Likely Stories - Ain't No Whiskey
      • Ash Gray & the Girls - Born In The Summer
      • Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit - Old Excuses
      • J.Tex & The Volunteers - House On The Hill
      • Cahalen Morrison & Eli West - Our Lady Of The Tall Trees
    • November >
      • The WellDiggers - Hope & Fear
      • Debonzo Brothers - One Damn Heart
      • Midday Farm Report
      • Al Scorch & the Country Soul Ensemble - Tired Ghostly Town
      • Josh Harty - Nowhere
      • Blind Corn Liquor Pickers - Myths & Routines
      • Drew Nelson - Tilt-A-Whirl
      • Trevor Alguire - Till Sorrow Begins To Call
      • The Lost Brothers - The Passing Of The Night
      • Hat Fitz & Cara - Wiley Ways
      • Stephanie Fagan - Heart Thief
      • Stevie Tombstone - Greenwood
    • October >
      • Lewis Brothers - Folk & Camp Fire Songs
      • Jack Klatt & the Cat Swingers - Mississippi Roll
      • Susan Cattaneo - Little Big Sky
      • Porchlight Smoker 2
      • The Vagaband - Town & Country
      • Blame Sally - Live At KVIE Studios
      • Ol' Savannah - Underneath The Old Red Barn
      • Anna Coogan & Daniele Fiaschi - The Nowhere, Rome Sessions
      • Heritage Blues Orchestra - And Still I Rise
      • Kelly Joe Phelps - Brother Sinner & the Whale
      • Random Canyon Growlers - Dickey Ain't Got All Day
    • September >
      • Will Scott - Keystone Crossing
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_CHARLIE PARR – KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE PLOW

Picture

2011 – House Of Mercy Recordings

5*****

            I’ve been a fan of Charlie Parr’s since hearing his first recordings nearly ten years ago and am still impelled to play his older albums, as well as a few bootlegs, on a fairly regular basis! I’ve seen him live a few times over the years and have been almost mesmerised not only by his extraordinary musical skills but also by the quiet intensity that he is able to bring to his incredibly authentic strand of ‘old time’ music. His previous recording, ‘When the devil goes blind’ was my album of the year 2010 and was very closely followed by the tremendous ‘group’ album that he made with the Black Twig Pickers, so after a lot of soul searching and numerous listening sessions it’s my feeling that this is his best yet in a career of great albums. He is often referred to as a ‘blues’ musician but the beauty of his work is that the musical gene pool he comes from is a mix of the old time blues players and the just as old time ‘hillbillies’. This blend dates back to the early days of recording (and beyond!!) when, generally, the only difference between a rural blues player and the rural hillbilly player was their skin colour, certainly, in most cases, not the music they played. In fact, there are numerous stories of ‘hillbilly’ singers learning their musical chops from old blues men in their towns and villages, a famous and easily researched case being the late great Hank Williams.   
            It’s rare that Charlie uses other musicians on his solo albums, perhaps sometimes to add just a little colouring, but this current effort almost has the feel of a band album, with the biggest noticeable difference being the addition of his wife Emily on some of the vocals and tambourine. Charlie handles most of the lead vocals, guitars and banjo, with Brandy Forsman on fiddle and vocals, Tom Maloney, banjo, guitar and vocals, Alan Sparhawk, vocals and electric guitar and with Mimi Parker playing drums on one track this is the biggest line up of musicians ever on a Charlie album. It should be fairly obvious to anyone that has read this far that as far as I’m concerned all of this extra ‘colour’ works brilliantly, and in fact, actually  enhances the power of the music. The playing by all concerned is of the highest quality, with Charlie’s mastery of, and the sound he gets from, his National Steel resonator guitar, as well as his banjo, being a constant highlight. Despite the fact that there are more people than usual involved in this album the sound still has the sparseness necessary to allow each song to keep the haunting element so necessary to this old as the hills music. The harmonies are never smooth and cloying but always have a slightly discordant feel, thanks mainly to the inclusion of a female vocalist, thus enhancing the almost ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere.  
            Charlie is a tremendous songwriter in the old time blues/hillbilly genre, well able to blend his own compositions with traditional songs without the uninitiated ever being aware of the time difference between those compositions. On this album he chooses to use traditional songs and a few that are credited to ‘old timers.’ Interestingly, to me at least, is the fact that these songs have been recorded by a huge variety of ‘roots music’ artists from Blind Willie Johnson to Bob Dylan and from Mississippi John Hurt to the Flying Burrito Brothers. Very few of these blues, country, folk musicians however, have succeeded in creating more feeling or atmosphere than that contained on this extraordinary album. Fairly obviously, it would be impossible for anyone to surpass the haunting, unearthly atmosphere  that Blind Willie Johnson brought to his own composition God Moves On The Water, but credit Charlie and company for giving this great of the past a run for his money with their accapella version! Similarly, East Virginia Blues, a song that has been recorded scores of times over the last eight decades, with the Carter Family’s recording as the definitive version of this tremendous song, and Charlie’s version can now be mentioned in the same breath. This hauntingly atmospheric song kicks off with a slow moodily plucked banjo and quietly haunting fiddle sound before the introduction of Charlie’s just as evocative vocal, making it even spookier and more authentic sounding than many of the songs and recordings from the era whence it came! All The Good Times Are Past And Gone, againstarts with a high lonesome fiddle, then the banjo comes in giving it an authentic almost primitive hillbilly flavour but when the atmospheric multi vocals take over it becomes an evocation of a front porch gospel song. It has the incredibly eerie feeling of something that could have been recorded in the American civil war era rather than the 21st century. Daniel In The Lion’s Den tugs at the heartstrings thanks to the gorgeous sound of Charlie’s national steel resonator guitar and Emily’s haunting harmonising with Charlie, giving this ages old song an almost funereal atmosphere. On Farther Along the echoing banjo and four part harmonies create a calming atmosphere, enhanced by several different lead vocalists on the verses of this beautiful song. Album closer Poor Lazarus, unusually, has an electric guitar as the foundation for Charlie’s keening vocals on this spookily atmospheric folk/blues song, with a drum beat that you would have expected to hear prior to an 19th century execution, giving  it an even more haunting, otherworldly feel.
            Part of what makes this album so extraordinary is the perfect selection of songs, voices and instrumentation that when combined really do on occasions give you the feeling that these people have been transported from a spooky lost Appalachian ‘holler’ in the mid nineteenth century for long enough to record the songs, only to disappear back to whence they came. It really is that haunting. The recording quality is also excellent giving plenty of space and depth to the vocals and instrumentation, allowing everything to breathe.        
            So is the album perfect? Probably not in the truest sense, but near enough for me to say this is well on its way to being in my top ten single disc non-compilation albums ever.
            It’s a shame it was released too late in the year to make mine and others year end lists but I’m carrying it over to 2012 as the standard setter. I suspect that by this time next year it will still not have been surpassed.

           

http://www.charlieparr.com