Show Me the Way Home, Honey

John Sebastian & David Grisman - Satisfied

Styles: Contemporary Folk, Contemporary Bluegrass, Old-Timey
Released: 2007
Label: Acoustic Disc
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 137.6 MB?
Time: 55:15
Art: front + back

1. I'm Satisfied - 2:41
2. Strings of Your Heart - 3:22
3. EMD - 4:02
4. Deep Purple - 4:39
5. John Henry - 5:03
6. Walk Right Back - 4:47
7. Passing Fantasy - 4:10
8. Coffee Blues - 2:53
9. Dawg's Waltz - 4:21
10. Lonely One in this Town - 3:58
11. It's Not Time Now - 3:20
12. Harmandola Blues - 2:38
13. Coconut Grove - 5:19
14. Jug Band Waltz - 3:56

Personnel:
David Grisman - Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals, Mandola
John Sebastian - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals, Guitar (Baritone), Whistle

Notes: The newest release from David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label is a duo project featuring he and John Sebastian. Entitled Satisfied, it features these two on acoustic guitar, mandolin family instruments and harmonica on a mixed set of songs and tunes. The 14 selections are taken from the repertoire of blues, folk and traditional music, plus a couple of Dawg tunes and a few from the great American songbook of show music.
This is by no means a bluegrass recording (obligatory disclaimer), but fans of the music of these two genre-defining acoustic artists are sure to be satisfied with the result. My own bias towards this project comes from the twin facts that I was a huge Lovin’ Spoonful fan as a young boy in the 60’s, and the impact that Grisman’s first Quintet album had on me as a young student of bluegrass and acoustic music in 1977.
The Spoonful was a pop sensation at the time, with Sebastian front and center, the group’s name having come from a Mississippi John Hurt song, Coffee Blues, which is included here. Grisman, of course, charted new territory with his Dawg music, but has always betrayed the heart and soul of bluegrass in everything he has done.
John Sebastian and David GrismanOne of the great treats upon opening the CD case was finding photos of both Sebastian and Grisman from their “early days” not long after they met as students at New York University in the early 1960s. Grisman was deep into a study of bluegrass at the time while Sebastian was immersed in Delta blues, but the two became friends and even performed together as members of The Even Dozen Jug Band.
Though their careers went in different directions after college, they found themselves performing an impromptu duo set at a concert in 2005, an event that led directly to this new collaboration.
The tracks were cut a la Grisman’s Acoustic Disc formula – meaning everything was recorded live in the studio, sans overdubs. There is a very raw, and ultimately satisfying appeal to this CD, and this may be a big part of it. ~ from The Bluegrass Blog, John Lawless (10.31.07)

Satisfied



• Le Chat Mort - Le Chat Mort / Roses
• Mike Dowling - Beats Workin'

Oznake: John Sebastian, David Grisman, Contemporary Folk, Bluegrass

Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher

Styles: Contemporary Folk, Neo - Traditional Folk, Neo - Traditional Bluegrass
Label: Nettwerk
Released: 2008
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 122,3 MB
Time: 53:00
Art: folk + back

1. Alabama High-Test - 2:25
2. Highway Halo - 3:42
3. The Greatest Hustler of All - 7:04
4. Methamphetamine - 5:27
5. Next Go 'Round - 3:38
6. Humdinger - 2:29
7. Motel in Memphis - 4:25
8. Evening Sun - 3:43
9. Mary's Kitchen - 2:43
10. Crazy Eyes - 4:17
11. Tunnessee Pusher - 5:30
12. Lift Him Up - 3:57
13. Caroline - 3:33

Notes: Old Crow Medicine Show release in 2008 their third Nettwerk album called Tennessee Pusher. Produced by the legendary Don Was (Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones), the album features the first single "Caroline" along with 11 other Old Crow originals and an American standard called "Lift Him Up" by Blind Alfred Reed. Having sold over 290K albums, OCMS can attribute much of their success to their relentless touring schedule. Between headlining shows and countless festivals (Bonnaroo, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, etc), the band lives on the road - they thrive on the communal experience of the live shows. OCMS have made a name for themselves as energetic performers with an unbridled spirit."as musicians, songwriters and singers, they are the smartest and finest purveyors of American music to come down the pike in decades." ~ Don Was

Tennessee Pusher



• Le Chat Mort - Le Chat Mort / Roses
• Old Crow Medicine Show - Old Crow Medicine Show

Oznake: Contemporary Folk, Old Crow Medicine Show, Traditional Folk, Bluegrass

Carolina Chocolate Drops - Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind

Styles: Neo-Traditional Country, Contemporary Country, String Bands, Jug Band, Neo-Traditional Folk
Label: Music Maker
Released: 2007
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 109.7 MB
Time: 47:55
Art: front

1. Starry Crown - 2:57
2. Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind - 2:47
3. Rickett's Hornpipe - 2:34
4. Ol' Corn Likker - 4:10
5. Little Sadie - 3:36
6. Little Margaret - 2:06
7. Dixie - 1:41
8. Black Annie - 3:15
9. Tom Dula - 3:29
10. Georgie Buck - 3:01
11. Old Cat Died - 2:29
12. Another Man Done Gone - 2:15
13. Black-Eyed Daisy - 3:58
14. Short Life of Trouble - 2:47
15. Sally Ann - 3:19
16. Sourwood Mountain - 3:21


Personnel:
Rhiannon Giddens - fiddle, banjo
Dom Flemons- guitar, jug, harmonica, percussion, banjo
Justin Robinson - fiddle
and
Sule Greg Wilson - percussion

Notes: Some 80 years after its initial era, traditional string-band/jug-band folk music of the kind played by Gid Tanner and Uncle Eck Dunford in the 1920s and '30s was a rarity in itself, but the fact that the Carolina Chocolate Drops are young African-Americans rather than aged Caucasians makes them stand out even more. The trio employs fiddle, acoustic guitar, banjo, and--yes--jug, for a sound that's full of reverence for first-generation string-band music but breathes with plenty of sonic vitality. Unsurprisingly, there are traditional tunes aplenty on the band's debut album, DONA GOT A RAMBLIN' MIND, and the Chocolate Drops tear into them with the same reckless abandon that made their musical heroes' music so immediately appealing so many years earlier.

Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind



• The 2nd South Carolina String Band - Southern Soldier: Favorite Camp Songs of the Civil War •
• Old Crow Medicine Show - Carry Me Back •

Oznake: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Contemporary Country, String Bands, Jug Band, Contemporary Folk

Old Crow Medicine Show - Old Crow Medicine Show

Styles: Jug Bands, String Bands, Neo-Traditional Folk, Contemporary Folk
Label: Nettwerk Records
Released: 2004
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 83,7 MB
Time: 36:17
Art: front

1. Tell It To Me - 2:48
2. Big Time In The Jungle - 2:50
3. Poor Man - 3:35
4. Tear It Down - 2:11
5. Hard To Love - 2:30
6. CC Rider - 3:50
7. Trials & Troubles - 2:57
8. Hard To Tell - 3:15
9. Take 'Em Away - 3:35
10. We're All In This Together - 4:51
11. Wagon Wheel - 3:52

Personnel:
Critter Fuqua - Banjo, Guitar, Vocals, Bottleneck Guitar
Kevin Hayes - Guitar
Morgan Jahnig - Bass (Upright)
Ketcham Secor - Banjo, Fiddle, Harmonica, Vocals
Willie Watson - Banjo, Guitar, Vocals
and
David Rawlings - Guitar, Producer
Gillian Welch - Drums


Notes: Old Crow Medicine Show is an all-acoustic quintet from four states whose members met in New York City and currently reside in Nash Vegas. Their storied beginnings include a North American cross-continent ramble while they learned their instruments and how to play together, eventually ending up playing on the street in front of the Grand Ole Opry before being asked to the stage some weeks later. Their self-titled debut album is equal parts Woody Guthrie's dust bowl weariness and Cisco Houston's rambling code of the road, Phil Ochs' view of a passing America, the Kingston Trio's wide-eyed enthusiastic earnestness, the New Christy Minstrels' sense of community, Doc and Merle Watson's home-grown blues as informed by Bill Monroe, Beat Generation lamentations, forlorn 1960s idealism, and the musical mindset that fueled America's original folk revival from the 1950s as it moved toward rockabilly. In other words, this record is informed by ghosts but executed in flesh, blood, sweat, and laughter. Whether the tunes are covers from antiquity ("CC Rider," "Poor Man," "Tell It to Me") or originals by fiddler and vocalist Ketch Secor and his songwriting and singing partner, Willie Watson ("Trials & Troubles," "Hard to Tell," "We're in This Together"), the feel is the same: passion, humor, and relentless drive to get to the heart of the tune and put it across. There is so much enthusiasm here, so much willingness and fire, that it would be hard to do anything but want to sing along. Thoroughly enjoyable, wonderfully raw and sinewy, Old Crow Medicine Show may be evoking the sounds of the old string bands, but they do it with a crackling rock & roll energy. ~ Thom Jurek

O.C.M.S.



• Abbie Gardner - Hope •
• Jeff Lang - Half Seas Over •

Oznake: Old Crow Medicine Show, Jug Band, String Bands, Contemporary Folk

Abbie Gardner - Hope

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 36:58
Size: 86.5 MB
Styles: Electric/acoustic blues, Modern folk
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. Break it Slow
[3:30] 2. Liar
[3:08] 3. Comes Love
[3:26] 4. I Can't Be Good for You
[4:41] 5. Hope
[3:14] 6. It's You
[2:38] 7. Bang Bang
[2:02] 8. Do It (feat. Craig Akin)
[3:02] 9. Nellie
[3:35] 10. Walkin' Cane
[3:24] 11. Too Soon


Coming five years and three Red Molly albums after her last solo CD, Hope is Abbie Gardner's latest solo recording. The CD features her versatile voice backed by 3 types of slide guitar (dobro, lap steel, and National bottleneck) and a band comprised of not only her father, Herb Gardner (piano), but also her sister, Sarah Gardner, on organ. Ben Wittman (the drummer on Red Molly's James) locks in with upright bassist Craig Akin, who is featured on the first instrumental Abbie has ever recorded (a bass and dobro duet). The songs range from heartache to hope, from gritty lap steel to singing cellos, courtesy of Emily Hope Price. Folk sweetheart Robby Hecht lends his voice to three tracks and fellow member of Red Molly, Laurie MacAllister, is heard throughout. Longtime friends and collaborators Fred Gillen, Jr. and Beaucoup Blue also lend their voices.

"I feel like the songs revolve around Hope, both the song and the idea. Rather than having all hopeful songs, this CD reflects the glimmer of hope we all look for when in the midst of darkness."-Abbie Gardner, talking about her new solo CD Hope.

Hope

Mo' Albums...
• The Crudup Brothers - Franktown Blues
• Mike Stevens & Matt Andersen - Piggyback

Oznake: Abbie Gardner, Acoustic Blues, Contemporary Folk

Michael Jerome Browne - Drive On

Styles: Modern Acoustic Blues, Contemporary Folk
Label: Borealis
Released: 2001
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 109,8 MB
Time: 47:58
Art: front

1. Goin' Where I Never Been Before - 2:38
2. I Love You Emry - 2:15
3. Children - 3:10
4. The Path You Leave Behind - 2:28
5. May You Come And Stay - 2:07
6. Someday My Day Will Come - 3:22
7. I'm A Ram 3 - 3:53
8. Gotta Have You - 4:34
9. That's Where It's At - 3:28
10. No No Blues - 2:33
11. New Morning Blues - 2:31
12. Cancer Ward Blues - 3:17
13. Guitar Mama - 2:42
14. You Missed A Good Man - 3:17
15. He Ain'T Got Rhythm - 2:20
16. Journey's End - 3:16


Personnel:
Michael Jerome Browne (vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, resonator guitar, tenor guitar, fretless banjo, fiddle, harmonica)
Ray Bonneville (vocals, harmonica)
Nicolas Caloia (double bass)
Jordan Officer (acoustic guitar)
Jody Golick (tenor saxophone)
John McColgan (drums)

Notes: Playing traditional blues in a traditional manner without sounding academic is a tricky act. Michael Jerome Browne pulls it off beautifully. Browne is a master of fingerpicked guitar, slide guitar and fretless banjo, with a raspy voice that would sound right at home on some Alan Lomax field recordings if you added some crackles and pops to "age" the sound. The thing is, Browne isn't playing this stuff just to keep tradition alive. This is no homage. This is no pastiche. He is playing it because he feels it. He was just born in the wrong era. On most tracks, he plays unaccompanied, but on a few, he has some light accompaniment, and the album ends on a jazzier note, complete with some tasteful saxophone, playing well off of Browne's Lonnie Johnson-style flatpicking. Mostly, though, Browne sticks to country blues. He isn't imitating anyone in particular most of the time. You can't listen to 12-string slide without thinking of Leadbelly, but even then, he sounds nothing like Leadbelly. He just sounds like the forgotten, long-lost blues master whose recordings miraculously resurfaced and were painstakingly restored.
There aren't many people who can pull this off, and Bob Brozman is no longer with us. Catfish Keith. Steve James. If these are the kinds of modern blues musicians you like, Michael Jerome Browne is for you too. And if you long for more blues banjo, check out Otis Taylor's "Recapturing the Banjo."

Drive On



• Jeff Lang - Half Seas Over •
• Geoff Muldaur - Password •

Oznake: Michael Jerome Browne, Contemporary Blues, Contemporary Folk

Jeff Lang - Half Seas Over

Styles: Contemporary Blues, Folk-Blues, Contemporary Folk
Label: ABC Music
Released: 2008
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 119,8 MB
Time: 52:19
Art: front + back

1. Southern Highlands Daughter - 3:39
2. Copper Mine - 5:17
3. The Savannah Way - 4:29
4. Five Letters - 4:45
5. The House Carpenter - 5:24
6. My Mother Always Talked To Me - 4:42
7. The Vaults of Lattanzio - 2:01
8. Mooncoin - 4:08
9. Ghosting On My Mind - 4:38
10. Night Draws In - 4:58
11. Is All - 3:21
12. Newman Town - 4:52


Notes: Australian based musician jeff lang has earned worldwide acclaim as a virtuosic guitarist, a dynamic songwriter and a startlingly unique live performer. Jeff has a back catalogue of 13 studio albums and has been featured at major festivals, pubs, clubs, arts centres and venues internationally for the past decade. Blending rock, roots, folk, blues, ballads, instrumentals, improvisation and a devastatingly high level of musicality, jeff lang is a singularly unique performer in our world. Jeff has been showered with many achievements and awards in his life, the most outstanding would be his six aria award nominations as well as his win in 2002. 2007 was an action packed year for jeff lang. Three albums licensed worldwide, two released in australia, too many local and overseas tours to count, aria nominations and the honour of being the artist in residence of the inaugural adelaide international arts festival. ~ amazon
Read more

Half Seas Over



• Geoff Muldaur - Password •
• Kristina Olsen - The Truth Of A Woman •

Oznake: Jeff Lang, australia, Folk-Blues, Contemporary Blues, Contemporary Folk

Geoff Muldaur - Password

Styles: Contemporary Folk, Folk-Blues
Released: 2000
Label: Hightone
File: mp3@320K/s
Size: 113.3 MB
Time: 48:19
Art: front

1. Kitchen Door Blues - 2:45
2. Drop Down Mama - 3:37
3. At the Christmas Ball - 3:18
4. Wait Till I Put Down My Robe - 3:11
5. Some of These Days (I'll Be Gone) - 4:07
6. Mary of the Wild Moors - 3:42
7. Trouble Will Soon Be Over - 4:56
8. Light Rain - 6:12
9. Prairie Lullaby - 4:51
10. KC Moan - 4:40
11. Beautiful Isle of Somewhere - 3:00
12. Got to Find Blind Lemon, Pt 2 - 4:08
13. My Tears Came Rollin' Down [Bonus Track] - 3:55
14. Motherless Child [Bonus Track] - 3:22


Personnel:
Geoff Muldaur-vocals, guitar, banjo, clarinet, piano
Stephen Bruton-guitar, electric guitar
David Lindley-guitar
Greg Leisz-electric guitar, lap steel guitar
Billy Watts-electric guitar
Bob Siggins-banjo
Richard Greene, Margaret Wooten-violin, fiddle
Jimbo Ross-viola
John Sebastian-harmonica
Van Dyke Parks-accordion, pump organ
Larry Ragent-French horn
Roswell Rudd-trombone
John Herron-electric piano, organ
Sean Hopper, Tim Emmons-double bass
Bill Rich-electric bass
Don Heffington, Wally Ingram-drums

Notes: Geoff Muldaur's 1998 album THE SECRET HANDSHAKE was a cause for celebration, coming as it did after a 17-year gap. The equally impressive PASSWORD came a scant two years later. He's joined on this one by an assortment of musical cohorts. Their appearances are subtle, always gracing the heart of the songs.
Charlie Patton's "Some of These Days" is rendered with light parlor room flourish, while Blind Willie Johnson's "Trouble Soon Be Over" is proudly funky, recalling Muldaur's time with Paul Butterfield in the band Better Days. The album closes with Muldaur and his guitar alone, singing the conclusion to his "Got to Find Blind Lemon," a saga which began on his previous release. As Richard Thompson has said, "There are only three white blues singers, and Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them."

Password



• Geoff Muldaur - Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere •
• Kristina Olsen - The Truth Of A Woman •

Oznake: Geoff Muldaur, Contemporary Folk, Folk-Blues

Geoff Muldaur - Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere

Styles: Contemporary Blues, Acoustic Blues, Contemporary Folk, Folk-Blues
Label: Tradition & Moderne
Released: 2003/2009
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 151,7 MB
Time: 65:07
Art: front

1. The Common Cold - 2:39
2. My Tears Came Rolling Down - 3:16
3. Wild About My Lovin´ - 4:10
4. Downtown Blues - 2:52
5. Gee Baby Ain´t I Good To You - 3:50
6. Motherless Child - 3:19
7. Just A Little While To Stay Here - 4:54
8. The Wild Ox Moan - 5:43
9. I Can´t See Your Face Anymore - 6:11
10. Trouble Soon Be Over - 5:19
11. Drop Down Mama - 4:00
12. Tennessee Blues - 3:52
13. Got To Find Blind Lemon Part 1 - 4:53
14. Sloppy Drunk - 4:23
15. Prairie Lullabye - 3:18
16. Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere - 2:20


Notes: Recorded live in Bremen, Germany, Beautiful Isle of Somewhere documents the re-emergence of Geoff Muldaur to the concert stage. After having spent most of the '80s and '90s concentrating on film scores, the business side of music, and computer-related projects, Muldaur returned to the studio and released 1998's acclaimed The Secret Handshake. The success of this disc prompted a small tour of Europe that led him to the Moments club in Bremen, where this intimate solo performance was recorded. With his gentle guitar and beautifully weathered voice, Muldaur moves effortlessly through a comfortable collection of folk-blues standards and originals for a subdued yet appreciative German audience. Songs selected for this set provide a nice variety that crosses through different factions of blues music, with Muldaur's voice easily matching the tone and style of each composition. Unlike some of today's blues singers who lick and trill their way though lyrics, his unadorned vocal work quietly conveys the ghostly character in Walter Davis' "I Can't See Your Face Anymore," while coming vibrantly to life on a rockin' version of Sleepy John Estes' "Drop Down Mama." His pipes get a workout on Vera Hall's "The Wild Ox Moan," a highlight from The Secret Handshake, where he caps off phrases with a tripping falsetto "moan." Even more so in concert than in the studio, Muldaur is able to showcase his mastery and passion for the blues, and this warmly affective performance stands as undeniable proof. AMG

Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere



• Eric Collier - Last Scene •

Oznake: Geoff Muldaur, Contemporary Blues, Acoustic Blues, Contemporary Folk, Folk-Blues

Kristina Olsen - The Truth Of A Woman

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 37:37
Size: 86.1 MB
Styles: Contemporary Folk
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[2:49] 1. Spend The Whole Night With You
[3:55] 2. The Truth Of A Woman
[2:47] 3. Rainy Night In Chinatown
[5:26] 4. The Yellow Piper
[2:51] 5. Phoebe's Iceberg
[3:40] 6. Part Time Lover
[2:45] 7. Headlights On The Highway
[2:17] 8. If I Stayed
[3:26] 9. I Am Ashamed
[2:55] 10. Between This Woman And This Man
[4:41] 11. Big O


Eleven previously unrecorded songs. Recorded in San Francisco, New Zealand and Australia with Peter Grayling. Olsen on guitar, steelbody slide guitar, concertina, hammered dulcimer and voice. Grayling adds cello, mandocello, mandolin, and harmony vocals to nine of the tracks. 'The Truth of a Woman' includes nine Olsen originals including an instrumental. 'The Truth of a Woman' was #1 in surveyed folk radio airplay in November '99 and #3 in October.

Olsen is a powerfully engaging performer with a raw blues velvet voice and brilliant guitar skills (on acoustic an steel-body slide guitar). Her songs have been covered by the likes of Fairport Convention and Mollie O'Brien. Olsen also is known for her abilities on other instruments and has recorded on hammered dulcimer with Michele Shocked and worked with Rickie Lee Jones. 'The Truth of a Woman' is Olsen's eighth recording under her own name. Four of her recordings have been released by Philo/Rounder.

Grayling takes an instrument rarely seen off the classical stage and weaves it through Olsen's songs, enriching the ballads with a gorgeous, mellow sound and driving the blues with punchy playing and recklessly passionate solos. Grayling was formerly the principal cellist with the Tasmania Symphony Orchestra and now currently does contract work for the Western Australian Symphony when he isn't on tour with Olsen. He was described in Australian press as the 'Jimi Hendrix of cello'.

'The Truth of a Woman' is the second collaboration between Olsen and Grayling. They released 'Duet' in 1998 in Australia, New Zealand and the UK to great critical acclaim.

The Truth Of A Woman



• Mississippi Millie - Acoustic Delta Blues •
• Frankie Chavez - Frankie Chavez •

Oznake: Kristina Olsen, Contemporary Folk

Old Crow Medicine Show - Carry Me Back

Notes: With the upcoming release of their new album, Carry Me Back, it looks like Old Crow Medicine Show have retaken the mantle of American roots music superstars, and they’re doing so by going back to their roots as a tough-as-nails old-timey stringband. After 2008?s disappointing Tennessee Pusher, and after a hiatus from touring over band members leaving and returning, it’s about damn time! The only downside to the new album is that it doesn’t really reflect the current lineup of the group. Since Carry Me Back was recorded, founding members Critter Fuqua and Ketch Secor have been reunited after years of separation. Founding member Willie Watson has parted ways with the group, as has mandolinist Cory Younts, and though you won’t hear him on this album, old-time fiddle prodigy Chance McCoy has now joined the band. But so what? We’ll be happy when a newer album comes out with the current lineup, of course, but this one will tide us over nicely until then.
Newer member, songwriter Gill Landry, remains on Carry Me Back, and on the new album has more of a hand in the songwriting, which is good news. Landry was an amazing signing for the group, though it went largely unnoticed by national press. Originally Cajun, Landry should be well known to any roots music fan in the Northwest from his solo work and his work with the legendary street performing jugband The Kitchen Syncopators. Their last album, Underwood, now sadly out of print, is one of my favorite roots music releases of the past decade. Hands down. It’s that good. Check out this interview by Chris Mateer of No Depression to get a better idea of who Gill Landry is. On the new album, Gill takes on the beautiful and rather sad song “Genevieve,” and I believe brings in a Syncopators song, “Steppin’ Out.” Anyways, I’m not clear on all the politics behind these changes, but it sure looks to me like Old Crow’s circling the wagons and focusing inwards on what they do best: punked-out stringband music.
On Carry Me Back, the group sounds more acoustic than ever, focusing on the hordes of banjo, guit-jos, and banjo-what-have-yous that gives them much of their rhythmic punch. Ketch Secor’s rough-as-fuck fiddling is back, which was always one of my favorite parts of the band. In truth, this album is seriously folkie. It sounds like a 21-st century version of Woody Guthrie’s vision, all hopped up on populist pride and pissed-off that times they aren’t a-changin’. “Half Mile Down” sounds like a 70s folk stringband, but the lyrics rage against flooded valleys from government dams. “We Don’t Grow Tobacco,” one of the best tracks on the album, sounds like a drunken barroom brawl and focuses its energy on out-of-work farmers. “I will chop that wicked weed/til my hands and fingers bleed/Workin’ like a mule/maybe more... And I sure am sad to say/We don’t grow tobacco ‘round here no more.” But it’s not all working-class politics. Old Crow Medicine Show cut their teeth on slice-of-life Southern folk songs and there’s plenty of that too, from the title track “Carry Me Back” which sounds like an Appalachian old-time song to “Steppin’ Out,” which could have just as easily been recorded by the Memphis Jug Band back in the day. On other bands, this kind of Southern nostalgia would come off as a bit forced, but the beauty of Old Crow Medicine Show is that they’re having too much goddamn fun to care, and their infectious joy in their own music swings the listener along with them. It’s good to have you back, boys!

Oznake: Old Crow Medicine Show, String Bands, Americana, Contemporary Folk, Bluegrass