Customer Reviews

Home Sweet Home (Dig)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever wonder what those old 78s by Gus Cannon's Jug Band or the Mississippi Sheiks would sound like it they were recorded with modern recording equipment and had no surface noise, so you could hear every instrument clearly. Or, how about a great Carter Family record with a couple of guys, instead of the ladies, backing A.P. on vocals?

Well, that's what you get on this debut CD by the "roots" supergroup - the South Memphis String Band. Comprised of young blues aficionado Alvin Youngblood Hart, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) and Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), this laid back group moseys through a half-dozen classics and adds another six-pack of newly arranged traditional songs.

This isn't rock and its not exactly the blues. Its just old-timey vocal string band music. Even the packaging is laid back with no color (its strictly a monochrome affair) and no list of who is singing lead on each of the tracks.

Kick off your shoes and sit back with a "cold one". This album will provide the atmosphere you need.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Very excellent straight up old time string band music. It really sounds like a bunch of friends just sitting around making great music.

This is an excellent CD for fans of string band music, or more generally of the roots music revival. Unlike a previous reviewer I like the song selection, with only a couple of exceptions (but there are always a couple of exceptions!) The CD covers a range of music from old-time string band to gospel to blues to jug band to Carter Family country. Both the playing and the singing are very engaging. The band has an even wider repertoire in concert, and stretches out the jams a bit there too--I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance.

Ever since I saw the movie Black Snake Moan, I loved the music in it and noticed that some songs were done by North Mississippi Allstars. Some of the same musicians are on this CD. It didn't take long for me to notice and get the CD. You can't go wrong with this!

As a longtime (70 years) fan of American folk music, I was slightly disappointed in this recording.The soundtrack lacked a certain clarity and the choice of selections was uninspiring. In fact, the only interesting and "rousing" selection was the first one in the lineup: "Jesse James". After that, it was nearly an hour of tedious pickings with sometimes difficult to understand lyrics. Overall, I'd give it a "C" based in the Jesse James item alone.

Highly enjoyable take on the old string band sound. Looking forward to seeing the live show in a few weeks.