Portland, Oregon's Foghorn Stringband presents a sound rather unique among oldtime bands. The key to that sound is the mandolin. There have been, of course, other oldtime groups that included the mandolin, the Leake County Revelers in the 1920s for one, but in such bands, the role was more that of a rhythm instrument; the Foghorn Stringband takes a different approach. On all but a couple of the 15 tracks on this their third release, Caleb Klauder's mandolin lead doubles the melody line of fiddler Stephen Lind.
Pairing the two requires that Lind play a bit softer, resulting in a lighter, more unified band sound, but interestingly, one that, because of the percussive quality of a picked instrument, maintains a rowdy and freewheeling feel. When the two operate in the higher registers, as on "Mississippi Sawyer" and "Sleepy Eyed Joe," the sound is almost frantic. Add in P.T. Grover's threefinger banjo (think more Snuffy Jenkins, not Scruggs), Kevin Sandri's guitar, and Brian Bagdonas' bass and even the most familiar tunes sound fresh.
That freshness is important, as about half the tunes here should be familiar, including a mournful "Short Life Of Trouble," a lively "Golden Slippers," and a ragtimey "Stagger Lee." On the latter and several others, the vocals reminded me of the Red Clay Ramblers, attributable to the lead singer's similarities to the late Tommy Thompson of that band. The other half of the album is a bit more obscure, ranging from fast dance tunes such as "Wink The Other Eye" and "Rabbit Up A Gum Stump," to a wild, halfshouted vocal piece, "All Night Long," to a lovely cover of Lotus Dickey's gospel waltz, "My Father Has A House."
Fresh sounds are hard to create in oldtime music, but the Foghorn Stringband has succeeded, and this album proves it.
