Alternative Folk from Peter Stampfel ('the Willy Wonka of music archivists' and co-founder of cult collective the Holy Modal Rounders) and pan-generic, modernist folk-rock band The Bottlecaps.

16 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: Power-folk



Details:
Peter Stampfelâs covers of early, obscure folk and bluegrass classics in 'The Jig Is Up' are jubilant and haunting, irreverent but deeply loving. This CD was recorded sporadically in New York in the '90s with five longtime collaborators (The Bottlecaps), and is evenly split between gems (often with altered melodies or lyrics) such as Stephen Foster's "Old Dog Tray" and offbeat acoustic ditties written by Stampfel or contemporaries like Michael Hurley. Produced by Jonathan Best and The Bottlecaps, itâs the last and by far the best of the three albums they made with Peter. It also has a Quicktime Movie of 'Bridge and Tunnel Girls' - a rare video treat originally made for MTV back in 1990 but never shown.
Robert Christgau of Village Voice gave it an A-. Sing Out said: âAn eclectic romp. Sublime, peculiar, outrageous and delightful. Peter, guitarists John Scherman and Tim Overgard, keyboardist Jonathan Best, drummer Peter Moser and bass man Alan Geller had a ball making this album and they are fearless about sharing the funâ
Back in 1963, Peter formed the Holy Modal Rounders with collaborator Steve Weber, becoming standards on the Village folk circuit with their bizarre original compositions and absurdly irreverent versions of traditional folk songs. They performed and recorded with the infamous Lower East side rock band The Fugs for two years before expanding from an acoustic folk duo into a psychedelic country rock band. Peter still plays occasionally with the Rounders Band in Portland, Oregon where most of the band settled and evolved into The Feak Mountain Ramblers. Peter's latest recording project, with producer and arranger Mark Bingham, is a century of songs - 100 songs, one from each year, 1901 to 2000.