Primitive dark American folk music with mojo to spare, played on handmade cigar box instruments and other homemade creations. You can hear the devil chasing and the Lord calling in these forlorn tunes.

13 MP3 Songs in this album (35:18) !
Related styles: FOLK: Appalachian Folk, ROCK: Americana

People who are interested in 16 Horsepower Dock Boggs Roscoe Holcomb should consider this download.


Details:
From the liner notes:

This album is the follow-up to my first solo album âYesterday Will Be Better.â In some ways it is an extension of that album, but it does possess several singular qualities. This album, too, is comprised largely of my interpretations of various traditional songs I have known and enjoyed. Unlike âYesterday,â the songs on âHogtieâ stray a little more into the realm of blues and even rock occasionally. Nevertheless they are still ostensibly folk songs. The title track is the only truly âoriginalâ song on the album; it summarizes the mood of the album as a whole. Like all good old-time tunes, the album generally resides on the darker side of things. There are songs of sin and salvation, heaven and hell, good and bad. Listen carefully, there are lessons to be learned.

The songs recorded here are among my favorites. âLittle Sadie,â Devil and the Old Lady,â âThe Cuckoo,â and âLonesome Scene of Winterâ are songs I played on the banjo early in my musical career. With its haunting melody, âLonesomeâ has long been one of my favorites to play; this arrangement was taught to me by Chris Thile of Nickel Creek fame many years ago. In my mind, âThe Cuckooâ hails as one of the most classic old-time tunes in part due to Harry Smithâs Anthology. Other songs are more recent additions to my repertoire. Son Houseâs performance of âJohn the Revelatorâ accompanied only by his clapping is one of the most powerful I have seen; this only adds to the power of the song itself. My introduction to the traditional âGod's Gonna Cut You Downâ was via Johnny Cashâs recent recording. Perhaps most significant for me are the songs and playing Dock Boggs. In his songs and playing style I hear what I feel. Boggs referred to it as âplaying it straight,â that is playing and singing the same melody simultaneously. To me that style of playing is the style of playing; the power and emotion it brings is truly awesome and unexplainable. âLittle Black Trainâ and âCalvaryâ are from Dockâs repertoire. The latter, with its droning melody and powerful lyrics, seemed like the perfect track with which to conclude the album.

With few exceptions, the songs are played and recorded âlive.â The areas of overdubbing seem fairly obvious (itâs hard to play two lead instruments at once). The instrumentation remains largely homemade. Such imperfect, garage-born instruments bring with them a sound that is perfectly married to these dusty songs. The entire album was recorded and mixed in late 2007.


Instruments used on this recording are 4-string cigar box guitar, hambone/clapping, leg-tam, voodoo stompbox, shake-stick, mandolin, mandolesk, shruti box, and box snare.

All songs traditional, arranged by K. Withrow except âHogtie The Devilâ written by K. Withrow. All vocals and instruments by K. Withrow except additional vocals on âHogtie The Devilâ by Chris Luker.