2014-03-26
Guitar (6 strings) + banjo (5) + mandolin (8) + fiddle (4) + bass (4) = 27 strings, but I think they're counting the mandolin as only 4. Also they use a Barry Dudley 5-string violin, but who's counting? There are also drums and horns. This is fun, fast, and bouncy bluegrass, but St. James Infirmary should not be played fast and bouncy. Five songs on this EP, and I recommend the other four..
From the promo sheet: "Fiery, soul stirring bluegrass, beautifully round-around-the-edges old time and a homespun folk heart pulled from mountain hollows are all sewn into the sound.... The 23 String Band plays fun, fuel-injected, original American that weaves across the lanes of modern acoustic music. It's a bluegrass attack fueled by high-octane rock-n-roll energy and triple-distilled old-timey roots. Your feet hurt from dancing; your face hurts from grinning."
--Gerald Etkind
THE BAPTIST GENERALS
Jackleg Devotional to the Heart
STING
Songs from the Labyrinth
CLIFF EBERHARDT
The High Above And The Down Below
Mountain Goats
We Shall All Be Healed
PAT CONTE
Gravest Hits
Burnell Pines
Till The Day I Die
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