Reviews
VARIOUS ARTISTS, SONGS FROM LYON COUNTY
VARIOUS ARTISTS SONGS FROM LYON COUNTY: DENNIS K. DUFF Gracey Holler Music No Number If you are one of the many of us who’ve watched the landscape we grew up in, a landscape inseparable from our sense of ourselves, gradually change to the point of unrecognizable, you will relate wholeheartedly to this powerful song collection…
TOM MINDTE & MASON VIA
TOM MINDTE & MASON VIA Patuxent Music CD-312 Accomplished young guitarist Mason Via and Duffey-influenced mandolinist Tom Mindte take full advantage of the flexibility of the brother-duo format on their eponymous debut. Backed by bassist Ben Somerville, the pair apply their musical excellence to typical duet music (“Twas Midnight On The Stormy Deep”), bluegrass (“Heed…
THE LONESOME ACE STRINGBAND
THE LONESOME ACE STRINGBAND WHEN THE SUN COMES UP No Label No Number This is the third CD released by this band, which includes Chris Coole on banjo, Max Heineman on bass, and John Showman on fiddle. Their promo material states: “The space created by the lack of guitar, the presence of three strong vocalists,…
THE BLUE SKY BOYS
THE BLUE SKY BOYS 1939-1949 RADIO BROADCASTS Patuxent Music CD-280 It’s high time for another Blue Sky Boys retrospective. Fifteen years after the Bear Family compilation of the duo’s Bluebird and RCA Victor recordings, and more than 20 years after a Copper Creek radio compilation, Patuxent Music (Tom Mindte and Dick Spottswood producers) have released…
THE BLUE SKY BOYS
THE BLUE SKY BOYS BY DICK SPOTTSWOOD Univ. of Miss. Press 9781496816412. Paperback, 256 pp., 71 b&w illustrations, $30. (Univ. of Miss. Press, 3825 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, MS 39211, upress.state.ms.us.) Brother duos were once common in country music. The Monroe Brothers, the Delmore Brothers, and the Blue Sky Boys were all very popular in the…
ROE FAMILY SINGERS
ROE FAMILY SINGERS SONGS OF THE MOUNTAINS, SONGS OF THE PLAINS Pinecastle Recordings PRC1210 The Roe Family Singers are from Minnesota and feature Kim Roe on vocals, autoharp, and washboard, and Quillan Roe on vocals, banjo, and archtop guitar, plus a large backup band with everything from electric guitar to musical saw. These 15 selections…