Topic: Mike Seeger--Early Southern Guitar Sounds

[Johnm]

Mike Seeger--Early Southern Guitar Sounds, Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD40157
Wildwood Flower; Old Chisolm Trail; Spanish Fandango; Shakin? The Pines In The Holler; Weary Lonesome Blues; White Oak Mountains; I?m Crazy Over You; Can?t Get A Letter From Home; Guitar Rag; Smoketown Strut; Big Kid?s Barroom; Fishing Blues; After All Has Been Said And Done; Joe Lee?s Tune; Carroll County Blues; Birmingham Tickle; Worried Blues; Kenny Wagner?s Surrender; Arizona; Pearly Dew; Risselty Rosselty; Johnny Doyle; Black Jack David; John Henry; Buckdancer?s Choice; Riley And Spencer; When The World Comes to An End; Leaning On The Everlasting Arm 

This CD is a fascinating project, and aptly named, for on it Mike Seeger combines a host of different righthand approaches and techniques, tunings, and appropriate period instruments to play a program of songs and instrumentals that only he could have put together in this fashion.  More and more I?m finding that the CDs that I find most satisfying are those that only the musician in question could have made, and this CD is profoundly satisfying in that regard.
The range of material and styles presented on the CD is enormous and encompasses:
   * Carter Family style a la Maybelle Carter;
   * Parlor style instrumentals;
   * Blues and Bluesy instrumentals from the Black American and Hillbilly traditions;
   * Old-Time songs and ballads, in some instances assembled by Mike from different sources and given accompaniments of his own devising;
   * Religious songs
The CD comes with an extensive liner booklet with information on the history of the guitar?s use and development in the U.S. from the 19th century into the 20th, notes on the sources for the CD program, including the tunings, keys and techniques employed to play the songs, and information on the different guitars used in the recording of the CD .  The notes makes it apparent that Mike used a different guitar on almost every song on the CD?s program!  I am the opposite of a gearhead, most of the time I can?t be bothered, but it is fascinating to hear how the different instruments sound in the hands of the same player.
High points for me in the very lengthy program include:
   * ?Weary Lonesome Blues?.  Mike?s reduction of Roy Harvey and Leonard Copeland?s ultra-spiffy duet into a solo guitar instrumental is absolutely masterful and beautifully played in the bargain.
   * ?White Oak Mountains?.  Mike?s setting of this Lily Mae Ledford tune into Roscoe Holcomb?s characteristic drony GGDGBD tuning style is very strong.  He absolutely has this sound down, and I?ve never heard anyone other than Roscoe do it nearly this well.  The style is so idiosyncratic--thumb lead of the melody in the middle register with intermittent backwards alternation of the thumb, constant unisons of the open first string and third fret, second string--whew!
   * ?Can?t Get A Letter From Home?.  My favorite cut on the CD, this one was an unaccompanied song for which Mike created an accompaniment.  Melody, text, singing and accompaniment all come together on this one.  This is a great take.
   * ?Smoketown Strut?.  This Sylvester Weaver instrumental takes to banjo-guitar like a duck to water.
   * ?After All Has Been Said And Done?.  This Leadbelly song is a real beauty, previously unknown to me and marvelously performed here.
   *?Birmingham Tickle?.  This one is a particularly strong original instrumental in Vestapol
   * ?Johnny Doyle? and ?Black Jack David?.  These two songs pair Mike with his wife, Alexia Smith, and the couple sing and play especially well together.  ?Johnny Doyle? has truly strange lyrics.
   * ?When The World Comes To An End?.  This hymn came from a source who sang it unaccompanied, and Mike?s singing and very restrained accompaniment suit it wonderfuly well.
In general, I would say that I prefer the songs over the instrumentals on the CD, mostly because I really like Mike?s singing and often find song accompaniments more interesting and appealing than instrumental solos.  Probably my least favorite material on the CD would be the Parlor Guitar-influenced instrumentals; not that they are played any less well than the rest of the program, but more that they simply are not my favorite style.  They hold my interest less than the other material.
The recording of the music is very honest, in terms of musicianship.  All the takes are strong, but there are tiny fluffs and instances of motor impulse loss that modern recording equipment could easily have eliminated, had Mike chosen to go that route.  Good on him for choosing to make the music in real time, like his models!
I very much admire the music Mike Seeger makes on this CD and appreciate the life that he has led to acquire the knowledge this type of project requires.  It is hard to believe for those of us who grew up hearing him play, but Mike is 74 years old this year and has never sounded better.  Well done!
All best,
Johnm

[RobBob]

In regard to catching Holcomb's guitar style, there is a thirty year old folkways LP where Tracy Schwarz does the same thing with one of Holcomb's songs originally played on banjo but recast on guitar.  Yes they are the only two who I know who could do this quality of work and Seeger is as amazing on guitar as he is on banjo.

RobBob

[banjochris]

On the last NLCR album, "There Ain't No Way Out," from a few years ago, Tracy Schwarz does Dock Boggs' "Oh Death" in Roscoe's guitar style, with Seeger accompanying on fiddle. Very intense version of the song.
Chris

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Thanks RobBob and Banjo Chris for citing Tracy Schwarz's playing in Roscoe Holcomb's style.  I've done a bad job of keeping up with the New Lost City Ramblers more recent recordings. 
One thing I forgot to mention in the review (you always forget something) is that several pieces on the CD are ones that Mike recorded earlier in his career, and it is interesting to hear how his renditions have continued to evolve in the intervening years.  Mike recorded "Weary Lonesome Blues" in a duet with John Cohen and a solo version of "Smoketown Strut" on guitar on the New Lost City Ramblers "String Band Instrumentals" album on Folkways.  Likewise, he recorded "Fishing Blues" on his Vanguard album, with harmonica played on a rack, whereas in this new version he plays quills.  He recorded Frank Hutchison's "Worried Blues" on his early solo Folkways album "Old Time Country Music", very close to the version on the new CD, and he recorded "Birmingham Tickle" first for Joe Bussard's Fonotone label, and later on for a Mercury album entitled "Music From The True Vine".  I wish more artists re-recorded songs they had previously recorded, though I guess I see why they most often do not.
All best,
Johnm

[banjochris]

I highly recommend that latest NLCR album, John. Right up there with their best stuff, I think. One tune Seeger plays on the guitar on "Modern Times" that has always intrigued me is "Take Them For a Ride." It's a Dave McCarn tune (the guy who made "Cotton Mill Colic") but I've never heard the original. Funny song with one of the craziest guitar parts I've ever heard. Anyone else heard that one (either original or NLCR)?
Chris

[Johnm]

I will have to look up that more recent NLCR stuff, Chris, thanks for the tip.  As it happens, "Modern Times" is their last recording that I have, so I have heard Mike's version of David McCarn's "Take Them For A Ride", though it's been years since I listened to it.  Like you, I've never heard McCarn's version.  I'll have to dig that out and give it a listen.  What a great lyricist David McCarn was!  I really like "Cotton Mill Colic" and expecially love "Serves Them Fine".  For great, smart, funny lyrics that scanned perfectly, he was right up there with Oscar Ford, Chuck Berry and Roger Miller.
I agree with you, Spike Driver, it would be neat to see Mike Seeger's early solo albums re-issued on CD, including in addition to the ones you mentioned, two on Folkways, "Old Time Country Music" and "Tipple, Loom and Rail", songs of the industrialization of the South, on which Mike does stellar versions of Frank Hutchison's "Miner's Blues" and Uncle Dave Macon's "The Death Of John Henry".
All best,
Johnm

[rjtwangs]

Actually there is a cd called 'True Vine' that came out in 2003 on Smithsonian Folkways. I don't know if it's the one you're talking about or not, but it is a great collection.

RJ

[banjochris]

"True Vine" on Smithsonian is a new record, different than the "Music from True Vine" on Mercury. Both are fine albums, however.
Chris

[rjtwangs]

Thanks Chris, I didn't know that.

Rick

[uncle bud]

Reviving this review thread, since I just picked this CD up. I had heard bit and pieces here and there, like Mike's fantastic version of Frank Hutchison's Worried Blues, but hearing the CD in its entirety is pretty astonishing. I had to start over from the beginning right away. Talk about depth. What a record.

Re. David McCarn's Take Them For a Ride, covered on the NLCR's Modern Times, I am assuming that John and Chris have heard the original by now on the Gastonia Gallop CD from Old Hat.

[Stuart]

Hi Andrew:

Agreed--it's a great album. There's a companion DVD set, "Early Southern Guitar Styles," available on Homespun:

http://www.homespuntapes.com/CatalogueRetrieve.aspx?ProductID=1015418&A=SearchResult&SearchID=181883&ObjectID=1015418&ObjectType=27

http://www.amazon.com/Seeger-Early-Southern-Guitar-Styles/dp/B001HJXK46

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=5063.0;prev_next=prev

Whether or not you want to learn the songs, watching Mike play them is a real treat.

[banjochris]

Re. David McCarn's Take Them For a Ride, covered on the NLCR's Modern Times, I am assuming that John and Chris have heard the original by now on the Gastonia Gallop CD from Old Hat.

I have indeed, and it's just as crazy as Seeger's recreation of it.