65 f
2 The Rhythmia The Rhythmia (Ragged But Right RBR 103) Fiddle, guitar and banjo trio from Kansas playing collection of, mostly, ragtime and original tunes. As the label says, ragged but right.
www.sandersmusic.com www.myspace.com/therhythmia
2 Full House No Ladders That Tall (101 Records 101RECCD22) Happy-go-lucky bunch from Chester with lotsa links to The Family Mahone, once plied their trade as The Volun- teers, all funnels into this jolly, chumsy, fat- sounding collection of original and contem- porary roots. They hold up their game in the writing stakes too, an atmospheric title track and a decent stab at Alan Hull’s Marshall Riley’s Army.
www.fullhousefolk.co.uk
2 Kelly Carmichael Queen Fareena (Dogstreet Dog 003) Ragtime-style blues from the likes of John Hurt, Gary Davis, Blind Blake and Georgia Tom get a fresh makeover from Kelly Carmichael’s jazzy ensemble that includes trumpet, trombone, fiddle, accordeon, drums and upright bass. But it’s Carmichael’s bouncy banjo playing and his light vocals that give Queen Fareena its zesty flavour.
www.dogstreetrecords.com
1 Kid Wardell Screamin’ & Dreamin’ (Front Porch no cat no.) 20 acoustic country blues from a Brit bluesman whose growly vocals have a touch of the Charlie Patton. His six originals sit alongside the covers from F. Allen, L. Jefferson, R. Johnson, C. Patton etc. Switching between National and regular acoustic, Wardell’s guitar playing is adequate (although there’s the occasional fumble) but his expressive vocals carry the songs well.
www.frontporchrecords.co.uk
@ Blue Jewel Dart Songs (Hirondelle Records HD001) Wimpy songs and tunes about South Devon in ‘70s folk club resident band style (knoworrimean?), sung over- politely and slightly off-key by Steve Banks (of Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band, who have a decent singer).
http://bluejewel.info
2 Joe Louis Walker Between A Rock And The Blues (Dixiefrog DFGCD 8673) Scorching album from one of contemporary blues’ most incendiary performers. Joe’s searing vocals and propane-fuelled guitar cut a swath through most of this album only easing up on a couple of later slower items. At times it’s quite relentless, but if you’ve got the stamina to keep up… it’s quite a ride. Great produc- tion from fellow guitarist Duke Robillard. Via
www.discovery-records.com
1 Annlaug November (Fivreld FIV01) Annlaug Børsheim with team of well-known Scottish roots musicians in her own acoustic and slightly rockish songs in Norwegian; roots more audible in two Scottish-influ- enced Hardanger fiddle-led compositions and two trad lullabies. Elegantly made and attractive-sounding, but probably more absorbing if one understands the lyrics as they happen.
www.myspace.com/annlaug
2 Sivert Bramstedt Blues And Joys (Root- sy 026) Blues from Sweden delivered with deep throaty vocals (in English) and basic gui- tar technique by Bramstedt, accompanied by rough-edged fiddle from Maria Engqvist Bramstedt and harmonica from either Sven Zetterberg or Jan Sjostrom. Lifted by the excellent recording, Bramstedt’s unpreten- tious approach pays dividends, gradually win- ning the listener… nice’n’easy.
www.rootsy.nu
2 Chris Barber’s Jazz Band With Sonny Terry & Brownie McGheeSonny, Brownie & Chris (Lake Records LACD278) After the three brilliant Lost & Found CDs (2008), featur- ing the Barber band with some of the US acts they toured the UK with, here are more record- ings with Terry & McGhee dating from April/ May 1958. 11 of the 23 tracks have previously been issued, the remainder unreleased until now. Some are by the band only, but the main block are by the duo. Another fascinating glimpse of those heady days.
www.fellside.com
@ Verbeke & Fils La P’Tite Ceinture (Frémeaux & Associés FA 525) Vocalist/ gui- tarist Patrick Verbeke and his harmonica-play- ing son Steve (who also sings and plays elec- tric guitar) attempt to play the blues. A few covers like Catfish Blues and Frankie & Johnny are sung in English while their own songs are all sung in French. There’s little feeling and virtually no musical prowess. Not good!
www.fremeaux.com – via Discovery in the UK.
1 Andrew & Noah Van Norstrand All The Good Summers (Great Bear Records GBR CD005) Talented brothers from New York State. Multi-instrumentalists, com- posers, singers, you name it. Extremely well recorded and performed, but the songs are not really strong enough to justify all the effort.
www.andrewandnoah.com
2 Falgren Busk Duo Duet (GO’ Danish GO0310) Early morning or late night calmingly reflective duetting on violin or viola and grand piano or occasionally harmonium or melodica, by two leading Danish musicians, Nikolaj Busk and Bjarke Falgren, in melodious originals drawing on their shared mixed experiences in jazz, classical and folk music.
www.gofolk.dk
2 The Two Man Gentlemen Band Drip Dryin’ (Serious Business SBR-35) Musical shenanigans and tongue-in-cheek novelty songs played and sung by the New York duo of Andy Bean (banjo, piano, trumpet, guitar, kazoo) and Fuller Condon (double bass, kazoo) with occasional assistance from some fiddle and drums. Frivolous but fun.
www.thetwogentlemen.com
2 Steve Baker & Dick Bird King Kazoo (Acoustic Music 319.1400.2) Versatile duo of Steve Baker and Dick Bird mix uptempo rag- timey stuff with some mean ol’ lowdown blues. Steve gets some great tones from his harmonicas while Dick lays down nice acous- tic guitar and handles the lead vocals with ease. The clean recording emphasises their direct, uncluttered approach. Good blues, pure and simple.
www.acoustic-music.de
1 Harvey Brothers Tartan Paint (Pan Records CDPAN029) Debut album by young bagpiping brothers from Caithness, accompa- nied by electric/ acoustic guitars, bass, key- boards and drums. This easy-listening bag- pipe record includes favourites like Kesh Jig, Mason’s Apron, Clumsy Lover, Athol High- landers. If you like the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, you’ll enjoy this.
www.panrecords.co.uk
2 Abild Methea (GO’ Danish GO0910) Gen- tly sensitive renditions by a quartet from the Danish island of Funen on fiddle, piano, viola/ mandolin and guitar/ melodeon of stately and sprightly tunes from a manuscript tunebook that they found in the local museum, compiled in 1783 by an Odense musician for a young Funen girl called Methea.
www.gofolk.dk
2 John Renbourn & Stefan Grossman In Concert (Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop SGGW 135/6/7) Phew! Two CDs and a whole DVD from the early 1980s show the dynamic duo at their finest: excellent guitarists willing to try anything from blues, jazz and country to Irish airs, medieval tracks and Bahamian tunes. Where the guitar is king‚ indeed.
www.guitarworkshopuk.com
Sam Mitchell
2 Sam Mitchell Bottleneck/ Slide Guitar (Acoustic Music 319.1441.2) With slide and associated guitars cropping up everywhere these days, it’s salutary to hear Mitchell’s take on blues, country and Hawaiian styles from 1976. His mastery is never bland, and the rough edges make this reissue as exciting as ever. PDFs of many of the tunes, too.
www.acoustic-music.de
@ Bill Stewart On Top Of The World (RGF RGF/BSCD 068) Uneasy mix of a few old coun- try blues, a couple of country songs, and a batch of self-written contemporary folky songs. Stewart previously played with the bands ‘Ushna’ and ‘The Gaslighters’. On this, his first solo effort, his guitar playing and vocals are ok on his own material but on this evidence, he should leave the blues well alone.
www.rgfrecords.demon.co.uk
2 Miriam Makeba South Africa’s Skylark (Nascente NSDCD010) Another Mama Africa anthology, better-organised than most. The songs are neatly distributed onto two CDs – CD 1 is Traditional And Classic Miriam, CD2 is Funky And Socially Conscious Miriam. All the famous cheery kwela and click hits are includ- ed, but the further you get into CD 2 the dark- er and more affecting she gets. Funky may not be the first epithet that springs to mind about the lady, but there’s some good moody stuff here.
www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/nascente
2 Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three Riverboat Soul (Free Dirt CD-0060) Pokey whines his vocal way through this merry CD of mostly original string/ jug band style songs. His trio multi-task on upright bass, harmoni- ca, washboard and various guitars. It’s all a bit rough and ready but their youthful brio carries the day.
www.pokeylafarge.net
2 Rag Time Skedaddlers Rag Time Skedaddlers (Mandophone CD0901) Classic ragtime compositions played delightfully by the stringband trio of Dennis Pash (Banjo- mandolin), Nick Robinson (mandolin), and Dave Krinkel (guitar). The two mandolins give the music sparkle, the guitar provides the bouncy rhythm. Lovely music, lovely album.
www.myspace.com/ragtimeskedaddlers
BOOK
2 Andy Irvine Aiming For The Heart – Irish Song Affairs (Heupferd Verlag ISBN 978-3-923445-05-9 PB) A commendable gath- ering of songs gleaned from mostly Northern Irish sources and Irvine’s personal experi- ences. Generously illustrated by Mick O’Do- herty and an introduction by Paul Brady, this is a composite gathering of old school tradi- tional song and personalised soliloquy wor- thy of its practitioner. www.heupferd-
musik.de/aiming_for_the_heart_en.html
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