Crooked Still - Some Strange Country [5/18]

Artist:

Crooked Still

UPC:

701237202921

Description:

Personnel: Aoife O`Donovan (vocals); Gregory Liszt (banjo); Tristan Clarridge (cello); Corey DiMario (double bass).
Audio Mixers: Brandon Bell; Gary Paczosa.
Recording information: Haunted Hollow, Charlottesville, VA; Jackpot Recording Studio, Portland, OR; Minutia Studio, Nashville, TN.
Illustrators: Mark Travis; Paul Fucik.
Photographer: Cassandra Jenkins.
Arranger: Crooked Still.
Crooked Still continue to redefine the parameters of bluegrass and progressive folk with their unique take on the old-time music they love. The tunes on Some Strange Country are mostly traditional, but the band infuses them with a subtle bluegrass virtuosity, chamber music attitude, and solos that often sound like they were borrowed from classical music. With Aoife O`Donovan`s luminous vocals, Tristan Clarridge`s dark, energetic free-form cello, the unclassifiable five-finger banjo picking style of Gregory Liszt, Brittany Haas on the five-string fiddle, and Corey DiMario`s jazzy approach to the standup bass, you have a band that`s ready to think, and play, outside of the box. The arrangements on Some Strange Country are warm and mellow; the tunes glow like the embers of a late-night summer fire infusing the air with a comforting smell of hickory smoke. Aoife O`Donovan`s voice is the focal point of the album, delivering the songs with the understated virtuosity typical of the best folksingers. She lets the stories she`s singing unfold on their own, revealing again their timeless beauty. Liszt`s dexterous double-time banjo plays off against Clarridge`s measured cello lines to add tension to the opening verses of "The Golden Vanity." Then they pick up the tempo to imply the frantic swimming of the sailor who`s being left behind by his shipmates. "Henry Lee" uses a melody that`s a variant of "Katie Cruel" for a tale of jealousy and murder, favorite subjects of traditional mountain ballads. O`Donovan`s matter-of-fact delivery makes the song even more harrowing. Leadbelly used "I`m Troubled" as the basis for his most famous song, "On Top of Old Smokey." Crooked Still return it to its mountain roots with a slow, measured version that features Liszt`s banjo, Haas` fiddle, and Clarridge`s brooding cello. The band`s originals are fit neatly in with the traditional songs, sounding just as timeless. O`Donovan`s "Half of What We Know," the lament of a lover left behind, uses images of the natural world -- wilting roses, storms, deserted beaches -- to paint a bleak picture of a lost love. Clarridge`s moaning cello and Liszt`s propulsive banjo add to the song`s distressing air. O`Donovan, Clarridge, and Haas contribute "You Were Gone," another tale of star-crossed lovers marked by moody cello, weeping fiddle, and sparse banjo. The band adds a subtle bluegrass bounce to its measured performance of the Jagger-Richards oldie "You Got the Silver." O`Donovan`s bluesy wail here is the album`s most emotional moment. ~ j. poet

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Sometimes in This Country
2. Golden Vanity, The
3. Distress
4. Henry Lee
5. Half of What We Know
6. I`m Troubled
7. Locust in the Willow: Locust Tree/Willow Tree
8. Turning Away
9. Calvary
10. Cold Mountains
11. You Were Gone
12. You Got the Silver

Album Information

Release Date:

05/17/2010

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Country

Subgenre:

Bluegrass

Label:

Signature Sounds

Producer:

Gary Paczosa; Crooked Still

Catalog Number:

SIG 2029

Original Release Year:

2010

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

43 : 11

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