Content area
Full text
Norman Blake and Peter Ostroushko Meeting On Southern Soil
[Red House RHR CD 153 (2001)]
After being friends and occasional picking partners for over a quarter century, string wizards Norman Blake and Peter Ostroushko finally found the time to make this wonderfully no-frills recording, abetted only by Nancy Blake on occasional cello. On most of the largely traditional repertoire included, the pair resort to the classic guitar (Blake) and fiddle or mandolin (Ostroushko) duet with wonderful results. The overall feel of this recording is one of two old friends sitting on the front porch picking out old favorites, focusing on time-tested tunes ("Blackberry Blossom," "Muddy Creek") from the rural South. Both contribute originals that complement this motif nicely. Blake demonstrates his affection for railroads as he croons his lazy "Blake's Railroad Blues," and Ostroushko's melancholy fiddle tune "Chickamauga" faithfully evokes the sadness that lingers over the Civil War battleground after which it was named. Blake and Ostroushko form a sympatico team, and Meeting On Southern Soil displays their traditional side at its best.
(MP)
Coila Full On[Lochshore CDLDL 1304 (2001)]
Based around a pair of fiddlers and an accordionist, Coila is a Scottish instrumental quintet reminiscent of a slightly quieter Wolfstone. While there's nothing radically new about what these guys do, they have the requisite energy and verve for rock 'n' reel, and they know how to let it rip. Most of the tunes on Full On are written by bandmates or contemporaries like Liz Carroll and Phil Cunningham. Fast, cohesive fiddle-accordion duels, backed by aggressive bass, keyboards, and drums, mark the louder tracks that predominate here -- their "5 AM Ceilidh" starts off like the "Theme From Shaft" -- but they also achieve a sweet elegance on the slow numbers, like the waltz "Takashi's Dream." Longtime Battle-field Band piper Dougie Pincock guests on several sets.
(TN)
Lil Rascals Brass Band Buck It Like a Horse
lil rascals brass band - catch a catchy crown
[Endangered Species ES70116 (2001)]
These guys know how to party. Enthusiastically mixing touches of hip-hop, funk, and second-line rhythms, this band is a worthy inheritor of the crown worn by the Dirty...