Search - Various Artists :: Mississippi String Bands 2

This volume of traditional fiddle music features even more classic recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. While black musicians are not featured on this CD (or on volume 1), their influence is hard to miss. With the exception of the four tracks by the Leake County Revelers (who had a lighter, more delicate sound), the music here is characterized by a heavy, throbbing rhythm, full of bluesy slurs, that is often haunting and melancholic. Included are five cuts by Freeny's Barn Dance Band, including their masterpiece, "Sullivan's Hollow," which features beautiful unison fiddling set against a hypnotic rhythm. Also featured are four tracks from 1935 by the Nations Brothers, including the superb "Magnolia One-Step" (mistakenly called "Magnolia Two-Step" on the CD). As in the first volume, the remastering here by Richard Nevins is remarkable and the accompanying booklet is tops--in short, this is an absolute must-have CD for anyone interested in traditional country music or fiddling. --Terry Zwigoff