"OK, the bullshit's over - we have a new recording, and it rocks. It's called Reap What You Sow, trumpets Foghorn's website. I certainly agree. Foghorn Stringband reaches for and achieves the true "big band" sound. Doubling intense fiddle with note-for-note rock-solid hyperkinetic mandolin, Foghorn aims its melodic ammunition with a rhythmic ordinance section that pushes the edge of the pocket with unerring precision. Soaring over all this are the rough-and-ready harmonies of extroverted singers who know how to deliver the essence of an old-time song without undue effect or stage, well, "bullshit," to quote the website.
The Portland, Oregon based band, who trace their roots to a jam session at the Weiser, Idaho festival several years ago, is possibly one of the hottest young retrogressive old-time bands in the country. Foghorn manages to transmit the energy and joy of the best of the old 78 RPM recordings with a fervor and attitude more akin to that found on the "college alternative" music circuit than at gatherings of academics and record collectors.
Old-time music aficionados concerned with reproduction of regional stylistic differences may be disappointed by the band's consistently idiosyncratic approach to material as diverse as the "Round Peak" band repertoire and the fiddle music of John Morgan Salyer. Clawhammer banjo purists may be disconcerted by the use of a three-finger banjo style that verges on bluegrass. Nevertheless, Foghorn's music is so exciting that it quickly submerges all academic objections.
Foghorn saves the best for last with a superlative rendition of the old chestnut "Sow 'Em on the Mountain." Expressive, stark vocal harmonies and precise accompaniment inject new life into the familiar gospel song. "Five Miles of Ellum Wood" assumes an entirely new musical character when filtered through Foghorn's virtuoso fiddle-mandolin doubling and three-finger banjo. Rather than becoming a bluegrassification of the old Kentucky solo fiddle piece, "Ellum" takes on the joyous character one might find swirling around a sweaty modern dance session. Nice place to meet your next wife! Foghorn's expressive and mournful vocal numbers are standouts, and their version of the Carter Family's "Charlie and Nellie" is especially moving. Capping the lyric concerning burnt love letters with angular quasi-North Carolina Appalachian fiddling gives it an immediate, tragic character not found in bluegrass-inspired reinterpretations. Fans of super hot tunes will be fully satisfied with selections like "Georgia Railroad." Inspired by Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Foghorn's performance here could very easily be used as a test to determine if you are still alive and kicking. Rapid-fire vocals alternate with red-hot fiddle in front of a roaring big band.
The sound quality is unusually good. Although the band's style is a "wall of sound" approach, the balance is good, you can still hear individual instruments, and the vocals cut through the top like a knife with high intelligibility, The recording was made with a single microphone - the best way I know to capture old-time music. Foghorn band members obviously know how to "work the mic," and the band's intense excitement jumps out and grabs the listener by both the throat and heart.
The disk packaging is a cardboard sleeve, decorated with whimsical drawings of a palmist's guide and amusing band logos. Unfortunately, there are no notes to give full performance credits, tune sources, or discuss Foghorn's idiosyncratic approach to old-time music. Though attractive, some of the printing is in red on the cardboard gray background - illegible to this color blind reviewer.
There is a trend in the younger generation of string bands to make the music "so much their own" that in many ways it ceases to be ours. Foghorn, on the other hand, does not mess with the feel and intention of the music. They make the music their own with instrumental virtuosity and intense dedication to the sources. Highly recommended!
