Listeners would obviously miss out on a great deal of enjoyment if confined to only one artist in the genre of Appalachian old-timey music. But if that had to be the case, this particular production would be in the running for the honors, as it hits home with just about every swing. First and... [+] Expand

Listeners would obviously miss out on a great deal of enjoyment if confined to only one artist in the genre of Appalachian old-timey music. But if that had to be the case, this particular production would be in the running for the honors, as it hits home with just about every swing. First and most important, it fits the criteria of a brilliant documentation of an artist whose playing in front of the microphones was refined to a high degree, having had plenty of time to be seasoned by years of playing music. Mike Seeger recorded the tracks with all the love in his heart, coming up with the warm, appealing sound that is ultimately desired from any analog recording of acoustic instruments. When one digs deep into the 15 songs, all featuring the artist's voice and banjo, a wealth of valuable information seems to be waiting there. There is the matter of Boggs' playing style, an approach to banjo which is quite different than many other players. The details are technical, and would be of interest mostly to banjo players, but the more important dimension to this is the way in which the technical aspects of a style actually dictate the flow of the music while also disappearing into the background. The latter aspect would have to be an essential in order for performances of this emotional quality to emerge. Each track draws the listener in, the bassline being played on the banjo's lowest strings having an effect that goes well beyond the hypnotic. The words are delivered like the mist coming off the French Broad river, the words always clear and a fascinating aspect of this recording in their own right. These are all considered traditional pieces, the type of material of which there are almost endless variations within the state of North Carolina alone. In some ways, these songs all blend together into some kind of bubbling stew of detail, ranging from the inspiration of animals to the cataloging of morbid atrocities. A lyric that is part of old-timey songs such as "Darling Corey" and "Dig a Hole in the Meadow" shows up casually in one of Boggs' other songs, and another corpse is buried in the holler. Verve was smart to nab this as one of the Folkways releases it licensed during the '60s folk revival. Pressings on the former label are pretty darn yummy. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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