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Critic's Review
Jeff Burger, All Music Guide
Bluesman Roy Book Binder's droll vocals and ragtime-based fingerpicking are front and center on this acoustic solo package. The 14 original songs -- at least some of which Book Binder featured in other versions on earlier albums -- include plenty of examples of his dry wit (see particularly "New Age Woman Blues" and "Can't Do That No More"). There are also affecting tributes to Book Binder's influences, such as Pink Anderson ("Travelin' Man Blues"), Reverend Gary Davis ("While He Served His Time" and "The Preacher Picked the Guitar"), and Blind Lemon Jefferson ("Blind Lemon"). Some might argue that Book Binder's vocal style fares best with richer accompaniment, in which case his many albums with instrumentalists like Fats Kaplin and Jerry Douglas might offer a better introduction. Be that as it may, this is first-rate country blues, and at least some of the songs have the feel of timeless classics.
