NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS 'There Ain't No Way Out' SFW-40098-CD

"There Ain't No Way Out" Many of us will always associate the classic Russell Lee 1939 photo of a country musician on the ground playing his guitar in front of a vintage auto with the New Lost City Ramblers, and this new release will bring back memories for many who were drawn to the beauties of old-time music through the recordings and activities of Mike Seeger, John Cohen and Tracy Schwarz (and Tom Paley before him). As they point out in their extensive notes, there are many young musicians today who have embraced old-time music and play with more technical skill than the Ramblers, but it is a tribute to the music that Mike, John and Tracy are still playing and enjoying these songs & tunes, and it is their legacy to have inspired so many others who now love this music. The 26 songs and tunes here don't quite have the vigor of the group's recordings from the 1950s & 60s (which is certainly understandable!), and a couple of songs just don't work (DO YOU CALL THAT RELIGION and GOD'S GONNA EASE MY TROUBLIN' MIND --both great songs, but they end up sounding grotesque here). However, the bulk of the performances are still enjoyable and, as always, there's a lot of interesting material. Give the NLCR credit not only for the contributions they've made over the years, but also for tackling this project in this day and age.

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