Black Twig Pickers: Sing Out! reviews Midnight Has Come And Gone
From Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, Fall, 2005, by Tom Druckenmiller
I fear today's old-time music listener has a double standard for judging performance quality. When listening to old 78s, scratches, out of tune playing and loose arrangements are acceptable as long as the fiery spirit is intact. However, when a contemporary recording or performance is judged, many of the same qualities of current pop music are used at the expense of emotion. Virtuosity is expected.
The Black Twigs come from the tradition more akin to the previous generation of masters than from many of those plying the trade today. The quartet hails from Virginia and is comprised of Ralph Berrier, Jr. on fiddle and probably vocals (as they suggest in the credits); Mike Gangloff, banjo, maybe resonator guitar, vocals; Isak Howell, guitar, possibly vocals and perhaps "Mike" Gayheart, bass and vocals.
Midnight Has Come and Gone is a collection of new tunes and songs with a classic or two tossed in. The CD opens with a song related to "western country" called "Fire in the Stove" with lyrics about the energy crisis and its effect on the poor. With this first selection we are introduced to the Black Twigs' style of wild and wooly playing, full out. What a refreshing sound, nothing fancy here!
As the CD unfolds we are treated to string band blues: "Lost Up the Holler Blues" and "Bent Mountain Drag"; driving modal banjo and fiddle tunes: "Slemp's Farewell"; fretted and fretless banjo instrumentals: "River's Flooded and Robin's Drowned" and "Banjo Instrumental"; and even a raggedy "Weary Bones Waltz." The centerpiece of the CD is the "Original Natural Bridge Blues" by Tommy Magness with newly discovered lyrics from a band member's family photo album. This alone is worth the price of admission.
The Black Twigs recapture the golden age of old-time music with all the spirit intact. And that's fine with me.
Feeds for this section: