![]() Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary took it up thirty years later and dried it out in a waltz-style ballad devoid of any “umpf.” Willie Watson, thankfully, has brought it into the 21st century with a heartbeat worth hearing. Back in the 1930’s, Lead Belly and Woodie Guthrie picked this 18th century British folk song up and recorded it in a chain-gang, call-and-response style. It’s a particular relief to hear “Stew Ball” restored to the kicky rhythm of Lead Belly’s version. With the aid of Rawlings, Watson reclaims simplicity on blues/folk staples like “Midnight Special” and “James Alley Blues.” Its revolutionary in a way to keep the original strumming and picking patterns on these songs, as Watson does, after decades of hearing these songs morphed into fully fleshed studio productions by fellow blues-lovers like Wilco, Van Morrison, and The Band. ![]() Willie recorded the album in two days in Woodland Studios, the recording studio owned by Welch and Rawlings in the Five Points neighborhood of East Nashville. Handy, Lead Belly, and the like by playing their songs with the same straightforward intimacy as is found on their original recordings.Ī big thanks is due in part to the album’s producer, David Rawlings, who delivered the warmth and razor-sharp precision found on his own recordings and those with Gillian Welch. ![]() Willie, his guitar, and his banjo are backed by the legions of blues and folk singers that passed before Willie was born. After spending over a decade playing to thousands with the sprawling neo-bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show, Watson is opting for simple songs, small venues, and an even smaller stage setup. At a time when traditional instruments and music have morphed beyond recognition (e.g., Mumford & Sons), Willie Watsonis stepping up as a musical historian and devotee of forgotten songs and sounds. He’s reviving the roots from which the modern folk movement has blossomed. They are stripped down and vulnerable, naked as the day they were born. 1, Willie Watson plays ten recycled tunes. Paul.Nashville – On his first ever solo album, Folk Singer, Vol. He teaches jazz bass at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. with whom he toured for several years - and the Minnesota Klezmer Band. Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band, Sammy Davis Jr. For his latest, he joined forces with Hungarian guitarist Sandor Szabo to produce Reservoir (Acoustic Music Records). Dean has since turned out an array of dazzling albums. His first recording, 1994's Broken Silence, won the NAIRD award for Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year. Guitarist Dean Magraw studied at the University of Minnesota and the Berklee School of Music in Boston. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin at 19, he'd won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul. ![]() He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He has provided music for documentaries on HBO and PBS, and has released many recordings of original material, including his latest, All In Due Time. Keyboardist, composer, arranger, and longtime Prairie Home Companion music director Richard Dworsky has collaborated with such diverse musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Brad Paisley, Kristin Chenoweth, and Sheryl Crow.
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