"Old-timey music" (*)-- that plinky-planky acoustic hick style -- is admittedly an acquired taste. The grumpy backwoods aunt and uncle of bluegrass music, old-timey harkens back to an older, plainer, more down-country era. Even though there's a lot of stylistic crossover, many bluegrass and country fans find the old-timey stuff to be a bit too nasal, or twangy, or primitive, or goofy... while legions of others love the stuff.
After years of qualifying my reviews of old-timey albums by starting off, "this might not be for everyone, BUT..." I finally decided to put up a web page devoted to the style and be done with it.
Here, then, is a look at the "young'uns" -- revivalist musicians who keep the music vital by plankin' and sawing away in the modern day. Heck, I hear some of 'em even use those new-fangled auto-mobiles to get to their performances!
(Also featured are pages reviewing albums by the original old-timey musicians of the Great Depression, and the best old-timey compilation records.)
Any Old Time String Band (Bay/Arhoolie, 1978, 1980 /CD reissue: 1996)
This San Francisco Bay Area ensemble was one of the most charming -- and accomplished -- of the late -'70s string band revivalists. This CD combines two LPs originally issued in 1978 and 1980, and features their lovely version of the melodic oldie, "C-U-B-A." Sweet and highly recommended.
Arkansas Sheiks (Bay, 1975)
An early SF Bay Area "all-star" band, with folks such as Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin, Laurie Lewis and Tony Marcus, trotting through a widely diverse repertoire of "American and English" tunes... Stylistically this ranges from straight bluegrass to western swing-tinged jazz and old-timey numbers, as well as a few vocal numbers reminiscent of England's Watersons... There are plenty of rough edges here, but it's a nice glimpse at this style of folk revivalism made at a time when stylistic differences weren't so clearly cut, and bands were in it strictly for fun, and didn't feel the pressure to specialize in order to get an audience.
The Crooked Jades "Going To The Races" (Crooked Records, 1998)
The first album by one of San Francisco's finest old-time stringbands. Here the Jades emerge as amiable acoustic twangsters, along the lines of the Dry Branch Fire Brigade -- knowledgable, enthusiastic and relatively accessible to bluegrassers and other non-old timey fans alike. The vocal chores are evenly split between the guys and gals, and when they really get going, their clattering enthusiasm is a thing to behold.
The Crooked Jades "Seven Sisters: A Kentucky Portrait" (Crooked Records, 2000)
The soundtrack to a documentary film about several generations of an Appalachian family, this shows the band's intensified interest in the more rarified, stark and otherworldly strains of old-timey music. These city folks nail it right on the head... Sinking deeper under the tow of old-timey music's darker side, the Jades present the passionate fatalism of mountain music along with all its musical charm. Singing higher and more plaintively, playing tighter and more aggressively, this is clearly a band that has found its footing, and is setting off to make its own original mark on some old, traditional music. And when the hair starts to stand up on the back of your neck, that's how you know they've succeeded. Cool record -- check it out!
The Crooked Jades "The Unfortunate Rake, Volume 1" (Crooked Records, 2000)
Under the guidance of their pal and guest producer, Richard Buckner, the Crooked Jades go even deeper into the Gothic side of the old-timey continuum. Once again, I'm not a big fan of high-concept country, but I am intrigued by their efforts to recast these foreboding old themes into an updated sensibility. There are lots of nice touches, such as their slowing an old barndancing standard such as "Ida Red" down to a near-crawl, and allowing the antiquated, somewhat saucy, lyrics to take on new twists and secondary meanings. The picking and plunking is pretty good, too -- these city kids know how to play a breakdown right -- although at times I have to struggle the vocals, particularly those that are most openly imitative of Richard Buckner. As with many alt.country artistes, the Jades have a tendency to sound a little stilted, but they back it up with a strong command of their material, and this record is several notches above the rest of the crowd. Particularly fascinating are their variant versions of traditional songs -- in the best folkloric tradition, they travel familiar paths, but they veer off into the forest from time to time, just when you least expect it. Great record -- highly recommended!
Hazel Dickens/Alice Gerrard (Various albums) (Rounder)
Although they started out as more or less straight bluegrassers, Hazel & Alice later led the charge in the early '70s into scruffier, harsher terrain. They sure had the feel down pat -- their original compositions fit in seamlessly with the historical tunes.
Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard "Pioneering Women Of Bluegrass" (Smithsonian-Folkways)
The title says it all -- there are plenty of great Hazel & Alice records out there (particularly the ones on Rounder Records), but this disc is a special look into their early years, as trailblazers on the traditionally male- dominated bluegrass circuit of the early 1960s. ("Hey, they play pretty good, for girls!") Their penchant for older, more traditional material is already evident, but what's also nice is, that at this period, they were still into hot picking, as well as old-timey folklore. Highly recommended!
John Hartford - see artist discography.
Jim & Jennie And The Pinetops "One More In The Cabin" (Overcoat, 2002)
It's hard to believe that these perfectly-crafted old-time-ish tunes were not in fact written by some mistily-remembered contemporary of the Carter Family or Grandpa Jones, but rather by a bunch of modern urban hipsters from Philadelphia who just happen to have an uncanny grasp of the oddball mountain music of the early 20th Century. They get the constrained emotionality and matter-of-fact narrative tone just right, as well as the subject matter -- song after song starts with a familiar set-up, and it's really only until you open the CD booklet that you can be sure that these songs were actually written by the band. These folks aren't hotshot superpickers, and they purposefully sing all raspy and offkey, yet unlike oh, so many of their twangcore contemporaries, the Pinetops don't come off as pretentious dilettantes. Rather, this is a band that is respectful and utterly in command of the genre they've adopted, and their material is emotionally resonant and entirely convincing. In fact, I'd say that if at least some of these songs don't work their way into the official bluegrass canon, something is seriously wrong in the world. Highly recommended!
Bruce Molsky "... & Big Hoedown" (Rounder, 1997)
Fiddler and banjo picker Bruce Molsky may be the preeminent old-time musician of his generation -- he's certainly one of the most highly regarded, and his fab albums on Rounder will show you why. Working here with a fiesty trio, Molsky perfectly captures the raspy, bouncy playfulness of old-timey music. His song selection is all first rate, and the record is captivating from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
Bruce Molsky "Poor Man's Troubles" (Rounder, 2000)
Another wonderful album. Here Molsky takes some of the twang out, replacing it with a sorrowful drone, akin to some of Norman Blake's best stuff. The song selection is uniformly great, and the playing -- with high-powered assistance by the likes of Darol Anger, Martin Hayes and Dudley Connell -- is first-rate. Smooth, captivatingly melodic and accessible, but undeniably and richly authentic. Recommended!
Bruce Molsky/Michael Doucet/Darol Anger/Rushad Eggleston "Fiddlers 4" (Compass, 2002)
Molsky's old-timey fiddling rubs up against the eclectic bowings of cajun music legend Michael Doucet, spacegrasser Darol Anger and classical wunderkind Rushad Eggleston... It's a pretty classy crossover operation, which glides from style to style. The sugary excesses of newgrass fusion and the raspy clatter of the old-timey are both toned down a bit, and this disc is nice and listenable from beginning to end. A fiddle fan's dream.
Bruce Molsky "Contented Must Be" (Rounder, 2004)
Traveling from triumph to triumph, Molsky has come out with yet another that fans must laud as the best one ever. This time around the talented multi-instrumentalist mainly sticks to the fiddle (for twelve songs out of seventeen), and plunks and picks some mighty fine banjo and guitar on the other five tracks. The material is all old-time stuff gathered by folklorists of years gone by, and able acoustic accompaniment is provided by Darol Anger, Dudley Connell and others, including Irish-American icon Mick Moloney (veteran of numerous top-flight Celtic bands.) Retaining the antiquated rasp of authentic American mountain music, while introducing a compelling melodic sweetness, Molsky has once again set the standard for the genre. Highly recommended!
New Lost City Ramblers "The Early Years: 1958-1962" (Smithsonian-Folkways)
New Lost City Ramblers "Out Standing In Their Field: 1963-1973" (Smithsonian-Folkways)
Possibly the best old-timey revivalists of the '50s/'60s folk scene, the NLCR were comprised of Tracy Schwartz, John Cohen and Mike Seeger (the brother of Pete and Peggy Seeger, and himself the son of folklorist parents.) All three band members were avid collectors of old folk tunes -- they dug up old 78s in the public libraries, collected them while on the road, and traveled widely throughout the Appalachians and the South, recording rural folks who still remembered the old songs. All of this is well and fine, but what really makes the Ramblers special was that they themselves rocked! Both volumes of NLCR recordings are full of inspired, entertaining music. HIGHLY recommended!
The Perfect Strangers "Perfect Strangers" (Rebel, 2003)
Bay Area old-timey elder Jody Stecher, Chris Brashear and some stringband pals zip through this tasty set of old-timey and bluegrass tunes, with plenty of traditional and public domain material, as well as several excellent new tunes written by Brashear, as well as fellow strangers Peter McLaughlin and Bob Black. Sometimes they're a bit odd and off-kilter (on purpose, in that unruly, old-timey way) but mostly this is sweet and straightforward. Fans of the style will enjoy this a lot.
Red Clay Ramblers "Meeting In The Air" (Flying Fish, 1980)
The Ramblers have put a lot of great records out, modernizing the old stringband sound in surprising and playful ways. This record -- a beautiful tribute to the Carter Family -- is probably my favorite of all their albums, and one which hews most closely to the original, traditional feel of the music. The Ramblers capture perfectly the heartfelt sentimentality of the old Carter Family albums, and if anything, on the softer love songs such as "One Little Word" and "Are You Tired of Me My Darling?" they are able bring a greater resonance to the material than the ever-craggy Carters did in the original versions. Gentle and sublime.
Leslie Riddle "Step By Step" (Rounder, 1993)
Speaking of the Carter Family, here is a lovely disc that a pal of theirs, guitarist/folklorist Lesley Riddle, made during the waning days of the '60s folk revival. Riddle was a local African-American performer who shared (and sought out) many songs for A.P. Carter to add to the group's early repertoire -- in fact, you could almost say he was to the Carter Family what George Martin was to the Beatles, acting as a musical mentor to both A.P. and Sara Carter. This disc shows that Riddle shared their gift for delicate lyrical expression, and emotional resonance. This disc is getting harder to find, but is well worth the search.
Alan Senauke "Old Songs From The Southern School" (Native & Fine, 2002)
A sweet set of Antebellum-flavored old-timey (and moderately bluegrassy) story songs, featuring Berkeley-based picker Senauke and a slew of super-talented pals such as Jon Scholle, Eric & Suzy Thompson, Kate Brislin, Jody Stecher, and others. Senauke, who has been picking and singing in various back-porch bands ever since the early days of the 1960s bluegrass revival, has a very soulful, expressive feel for this material. This wonderful little album (affectionately designed to look like an old Folkways LP) might be easy to miss if you don't know what to look for, but it'll be a gem for those who manage to pick it up. Recommended!
The Spark Gap Wonder Boys "Cluck Old Hen" (Rounder, 1970)
I mostly picked this up as a historical curio (was this really the second album Rounder put out? Golly.), but was pleased to find that the New England-based SGWBs were as able an agile an old-timey band as any that came before or after, rollicking through an impressive repertoire of Depression-era oldies, with plenty of zippy, accomcoplished picking and grumpy, old-man vocals. They also let their hippie side drag, peppering a few tunes with contemporary pop culture references, such as a shout-out to underground cartoon character Snappy Sammy Smoot, during the comic patter in "Lee Highway Blues." It's a shame this disc is long out of print, because it really is one of the best, most stylistically varied albums of its kind. If you see it used, snap it up.
Jody Stecher "Going Up On The Mountain: The Classic First Recordings" (Acoustic Disc, 2000)
Amid the 1960s jugband scene, and well into the acoustic revival of the 1970s, '80s and '90s... and heck, right up to the present day, old-timey purist Jody Stecher has walked like a giant. This CD -- a reissue of his first solo album -- will show you why Stecher wins the "my repertoire is more austere than your repertoire" award. Old-timey fans will rejoice at this CD re-release of his first two albums, which were originally out on the tiny Bay Area label, Bay Records. Stecher has long been recognized as a pivotal member of the '60s folk-bluegrass revival, and particularly of the acoustic music scene in San Francisco. These early '70s recordings feature him along with a slew of well-known countrerculture acoustic types, such as John Herald, Eric Thompson, Fred Solokow and, of course, Stecher's long-time partner, Kate Brislin. It's a deliberately arid, high lonesome sound; Stecher tackles the music with a severity that's still unnerving today. He wants to make sure that listeners know this is "the real stuff", and his raw, live-wire delivery rivals that of Bill Monroe at his most intense. There's also a nice back-porch feel to the proceedings, a mix of devotion and informality that up-and-coming acoustic plunkers will strive to revive for decades to come. Recommended!
Strange Creek Singers "Strange Creek Singers" (Arhoolie, 1972)
An old-timey classic, joining Hazel & Alice later with Mike Seeger and Tracy Schwartz of the New Lost City Ramblers. They open the album with a shape-note song ("When I Can Read My Titles Clear"), just to let us know that they've got the real low-down on this mountain music... Then they gradually ease into more melodic, bluegrassy terrain. It's great stuff from start to finish, originally recorded between 1968-70.
Leroy Troy "The Old Grey Mare" (Rounder, 2001)
A little goofy, slightly over-the-top, but convincing and compelling nonetheless, cornpone without being corny. Leroy Troy is not as old as he sounds, singing in a gravelly, whispered lisp, trotting through a bunch of old-time tunes, but his affectations aren't intrusive, they work pretty well in the context of his tunes. Helped out by a bunch of pickin' pals, including Marty Stuart in a welcome return to his hillbilly roots, this is as much a bluegrass novelty album as it is old-timey, although for folks looking for the old-timey sense of nostalgia without quite as much of the musical severity, this could be a fun record to explore. I liked it.
Various Artists "YOUNG FOGIES" (Rounder, 1994)
Various Artists "YOUNG FOGIES v.2" (Rounder, 1995)
Two great collections of various Rounder bands who play the plinky-plunky... Features folks such as the Dry Branch Fire Squad... etc etc... This was meant as a cheapie catalog sampler, but don't let that bother you -- all the performances are top-notch, and the enthusiasm of the bands shines through on every cut. Recommended!
