Fiddlefreak Folk Music Blog » cello

Crooked Still: Friends of Fall (MP3)

Stuart Mason — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:36:25 +0000

Photo by Dan Tappan

Friends of Fall

East Coast alt-bluegrass band Crooked Still is in the middle of their 10th Anniversary Tour, currently on the West Coast and heading south. (I’m planning to attend their show this Friday in Arroyo Grande.) Their new 7-song EP titled Friends of Fall was released October 11th on Signature Sounds. Since their early days, the kids have wandered a bit from the traditional pieces that were the raw material for their modern explorations. This release features creative covers of the Beatles, Paul Simon, and John Hartford as well as original pieces and a musical adaptation of a Wendell Berry poem. Yet they remain rooted in old-time Americana, with a lovely rendition of When Sorrows Encompass Me Round, and a soulful take on Pretty Bird, from the pen of West Viriginia’s legendary Hazel Dickens, who left us behind on April 22 of this year. Her songs are in good hands.

LISTEN: When Sorrows Encompass Me ‘Round (MP3)

LISTEN: Pretty Bird (MP3)

Thanks to motnovak.

LISTEN/BUY

BAND WEBSITE

Childsplay: Waiting for the Dawn (MP3)

Stuart Mason — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:49:54 +0000

Childsplay

Waiting for the Dawn

My hard-core old-time folkie readers might want to pass on this one, but if the idea of a large group of fiddlers playing together on fiddle tunes and folk songs sounds good to you, then read on. Childsplay is a group united by the instruments of violin maker Bob Childs of Cambridge, Massachussetts. Their fifth CD was produced by legendary New England fiddler Pete Sutherland and features the ethereal vocals of Aoife O’Donovan, of Crooked Still. Among others, the album includes the playing of Hanneke Cassell (fiddle), Lissa Schneckenburger (fiddle), Ralph Gordon (bass), Shannon Heaton (flute and accordion), and Keith Murphy (guitar and piano). Waiting for the Dawn sounds kinda like Crooked Still without the bluegrass banjo and with a classical symphony accompaniment. Enjoy!

LISTEN: Tears Of Healing Rain/After The Rain

VIDEO: Colonel Thorton/Miss Lyall/The Road to Errogie

Childsplay Website

Buy Now

Crooked Still: Still Crooked

Stuart Mason — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:33:26 +0000

Have you heard the big news from young alt-grass pickers Crooked Still? Brilliant cellist Rushad Eggleston has left the band. One might compare Rushad to the immortal swordsman of the Highlander movies: there can be only one. A blow this disastrous has sunk lesser ships. But wait–what’s this? They’ve added two new members to the group for this release: on cello, Tristan Clarridge, and on fiddle, Brittany Haas. And they’re not sinking. They’re not even changing course.

Crooked Still has emerged from what must have been some heavy internal turmoil with another kick-butt record of old time classics and obscure beauties, performed in their own unique blend of angelic vocals and fiery bluegrass. For fans of their previous records, the Crooked Still sound has survived and matured. Still Crooked takes the listener on another aching, wistful journey from a bona fide Appalachian past to a new brand of bluegrass future. One that combines an almost Celtic vocal style with chamber quartet strings and rapid-fire Scruggs banjo. Comparisons of Aoife O’Donovan’s breathy vocal style with Alison Krauss are inevitable, and appropriate. But now she’s pushing her vocals deeper into her diaphragm, finding a wider dynamic and emotional range that suits the material quite well.

The official street date of Crooked Still’s new release is June 24, but you can buy it now at their label Signature Sound’s web site. Click on the nifty e-Card link and you can preview the album while perusing a photo album, liner notes, band bio, and tour schedule.

Crooked Still Website