This is yet another production for the valuable
Smithsonian Folkways
line by busy
Mike Seeger
. He would complain about how long the company would sit on projects, and in this case it would be about four years before this recording of
Kilby Snow
saw the light of day.
Seeger
's own enthusiasm and skill at the autoharp is clearly behind his enthusiasm for this artist, whose recording is not stunning but is certainly endearing, with some tracks -- such as the artist's
"Autoharp Special"
-- having great appeal. As a vocalist
Snow
is strictly there to establish a friendly story-master sort of presence, and the marvelous sound of his instrument does a long way to cover up the fact that his accompaniments are not particularly diverse or challenging. He is at his best when he is not singing and is able to focus on delivering an arrangement involving complicated string work. Some of his best sounds on the autoharp are when he narrows down to a few strings to create a harpsichord-like shimmer or somehow creates enough pressure on a bass string to get something of a plucked, even twangy sound. Some of the best tracks feature a few additional musicians, sometimes just
or the second autoharp of
Mike Hudak
. When a whole gaggle of pickers get together on
"Flop-Eared Mule,"
the results are a riot and make one wish there had been another
album in which more extensive use of backup players was made. Fans of mountain music and the
old-timey
sound will find this a delightful record. The recording is of the warm and fuzzy variety, although overmodulation from the vocals mars a few of the tracks. ~ Eugene Chadbourne