Sound Traditions: Appalachian Fiddle Breakdown

Performer: Various Artists
Producer: Sam Passamano, Jr. (Reissue)
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Created in 1955, Rural Rhythm Records has released hundreds of classic sessions by bluegrass and country artists like Don Reno, Red Smiley, Mac Wiseman, Vassar Clements, Hylo Brown, J.E. Mainer, and many others, and the label has repackaged these sides in all sorts of combinations for the digital age. Here Rural Rhythm has combined tracks made by fiddlers DeWayne Wear and Mutt Poston, both of whom were smooth and fast fiddlers, into a CD that feels like a bright, breezy sprint around the house and barn, or maybe a chase around the house and barn, because that's what these two players seem to be doing, chasing each other. Every cut here is a fiddle standard, and Wear and Poston both have a habit of keeping the foot down on the accelerator, so it all quickly blurs together into one big fiddle contest. Some performances stick out, though, like Poston's blistering take on "Eighth of January" and Wear's sparkling and chiming redirection of "Cotton Eyed Joe," and there are enough of these to keep this collection from simply being bluegrass wallpaper. ~ Steve Leggett

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