Dog Days of August

Cephas & Wiggins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Flying Fish Records
• ASIN: B000000MJL
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,445 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

At a time when style counts more than meaning, singer/guitarist Cephas and singer/harpist Wiggins, a team since the mid 1970s, are a rarity. They love the folk blues of the Delta and the low hills of the Piedmont region, and their renditions of traditional tunes are at once emotional and artistically authoritative. Cephas is the better singer. Warm and inviting first takes from 1986. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost impossibly well-executed acoustic Piedmont blues, January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dog Days of August (Audio CD)

This release by the acclaimed Piedmont blues duo of "Bowling Green" John Cephas and "Harmonica" Phil Wiggins really put them on the map. Recorded entirely in the living room of Cephas's self-built house in rural Virginia, the selections on this album were all laid down in a single night, with no overdubs whatsoever. From the haunting dirge of Skip James' "Hard Time Killing Floor" to the rousing sing-a-long spirit of "Roberta," this release has graced my stereo well over a hundred times, and I never tire of it. "John Henry" is a favorite, the classic traditional given almost best-ever treatment, and "Stagger Lee" comes in close behind. Other recommended cuts are the title cut, "Reno Factory," and "Cherryball" -- also penned by James. Cephas, with his honey-cured baritone, has a singularly beatiful voice -- rich and expressive with lots of soul, and his guitar picking -- the distinctive thumb-and-forefinger picking of the Piedmont tradition, is heralded around the world. (Taylor guitars put him on the cover of their catalog in 1997.) Wiggins is an incredibly fleet and dextrous harmonica player, providing near perfect counterpoint to Cephas's playing and singing, and will leave many fellow harmonica players gasping at his weaves and runs. Still actively touring -- having been together since 1983 -- Cephas and Wiggins are just about to release "Homemade" on Alligator Records, which is sure to provide more of their always top-rack acoustic blues.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Piedmont Blues!!!, February 3, 2002

By 

peter krampert (eharmonica.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dog Days of August (Audio CD)

The acoustic Blues that spontaneously arose around the the turn of the century in rural America was an mixture of various influences. Folk, Country, Blues and various forms of ethnic musics blended in and out of each other weaving a beautiful tapestry of sound.

Cephas and Wiggins are an acoustic duo who are doing an amazing job of keeping traditional music alive. John Cephas does a great job of guitar playing and singing. Phil Wiggins sounds like he studied at the footsteps of the masters, providing perfect balance to Cephas' singing. Together the two blend effortlessly and any acoustic Blues enthusiast would be happy to have this cCD in their collection.

This CD contains eight songs, mostly standards. The originals sound like they were written during the 1920's, the covers are faithfully reproduced. I hope we hear a lot more from these two in the future.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent acoustic blues on CD-R, March 20, 2006

By 

Alexander Panin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dog Days of August (Audio CD)

Music is excellent, old time Piedmont blues. However, currently Amazon sells this album on CD-R (not factory pressed or `silver' CD), at least my copy arrived today is CD-R. It is known that CD-R lifetime could be significantly smaller than of factory pressed CDs (a CD-R can die within 5 years even if you choose not to play it at all). Get this, but be prepared that your copy could fail to play after few years.