4 replies to this topic

[Josh Hurst]

Produced by Buddy Miller.

[Josh Hurst]

"Country Girl"

[Overstreet]

AllMusic's Steve Leggett:

Quote

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, a contemporary string band trio who, under the watchful eye of mentor Joe Thompson, re-created the look, feel, and sound of a 19th century black North Carolina string, fiddle, and jug band ensemble, crafted their first studio recordings into perfect facsimiles of the group's influences. The Drops were always at their best on-stage, however, where the gospel stomp of those mountain rhythms and the kinetic energy the band gave off completed the feel of a living, breathing history lesson. Those old string bands could turn on a dime, and the Chocolate Drops reproduced that art, turning their live sets into a black string band revival show. The studio albums felt like they were a bit encased in glass compared to the live performances. For this outing, however, the Chocolate Drops found the perfect producer in Buddy Miller, who recorded the band live in a single room, and the result is a wonderfully immediate album that feels like a Saturday night house party-- complete with moonlight, dust flying from the carpet under the feet of dancers, and crickets and night bird calls out the open windows.

[Christian]

Was pleasantly surprised to see a review of this one in this morning's paper.

[Josh Hurst]

I like it, too; Buddy is the perfect producer for them, as this one builds quite nicely on the strengths of Genuine Negro Jig, but is ultimately a more raw, raucous, and beautiful piece of work, with more joy in the performances.