| “West Coast native Buell Neidlinger is joined by some excellent musicians here on an album that delves into some more “modern” sounds with generally good results. We can’t think of another record that contains material as diverse as DeFord Bailey, Bill Monroe and Thelonious Monk, but the fact that it works is a tribute to the material itself as well as some imaginative picking by the artists, who include fiddlers Richard Greene, Darol Anger and Robert Bowlin. The disc features 3 or 4 cuts each by hitherto obscure groups named the Muffinlickers, The Ratchet Brothers, The Stringlickers, and Buellgrass-1982. The one constant is Neidlinger, who plays either cello or bass on all the tunes. Most traditional of these combos is the Ratchet Brothers, a trio that includes Robert Bowlin and Danny Barnes—their tracks include a solid & pretty straight version of Bill Monroe’s LEFT ON THE STREET. Greene & Anger’s twin fiddles join with Neidlinger’s interesting cello work for a quite successful version of OLD DANGERFIELD and the bluesy NEW ORLEANS TO MISSISSIPPI, and Greene’s fiddling is also heard on a nice version of DANNY BOY as well as tunes from Jazz giants Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk. Ruthie Dornfeld and Paul Elliot (Stringlickers) put forth some very nice sounds on HORSESHOE BEND (an old Stripling Brothers tune) and EVENING PRAYER BLUES (from DeFord Bailey)—these all aided by the cello of Neidlinger as well.... ” |
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