While banjoist
Jim Smoak
isn't well-known in
bluegrass
circles, his credentials are excellent.
Smoak
played and recorded with
Bill Monroe
in the early '50s and, following a stint in the army, played with
Hylo Brown
. In 1960
returned to the south and put together
the Louisiana Honeydrippers
for a recording session with
Harry Oster
. One can immediately pick up the influence of
Monroe
and the more rustic strains of tradition on
Bayou Bluegrass
.
's old-time vocals seem just right for
folk
tunes like
"Liza Jane,"
"Old Dan Tucker,"
and
"Mama Don't Allow,"
and the band's accompaniment, more reminiscent of 1946 than 1960, seems just right. The ingredient that separates these songs and
instrumentals
from other
traditional
albums, however, is the "Bayou" factor, which is provided alternately by fiddlers
Dewey Edwards
Bucky Wood
Edwards
' bow work on
"Rabbit, Where's Your Mammy?"
"The Fisher's Hornpipe"
gives these pieces a real
Cajun
flavor.
reinforces this old-time
feel by using claw-hammer and single-note style, respectively, on these pieces. Several songs, including
"East Bound Train"
"Underneath the Weeping Willow,"
are smoothed out a bit by
J.C
V.J. Meyers
' fine harmony.
is a vital disc, full of inspired performances and lots of deft picking. The 2002 reissue includes four previously unreleased bonus cuts. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.