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Wrong Doings and Done Wrongs
Escape the Floodwater Jug Band
My first impression of this CD was the packaging. An eye-catching
front cover, nice pictures of the band on the back and inside, and
the cartoon under the disc all point to care in producing a
professional disc. This impression was strengthened by listening
to the disc. The band presents a great mix of cover songs and
originals and gives credit to the jug bands that are best known
for the cover songs.
Instrumentally, Escape the Floodwater Jug Band is superb. I had to
listen to Rag Mama twice to convince myself that I wasn’t hearing
a mandolin. The guitar (and probably the ukulele) on that cut are
amazing. As a banjo player, I found myself listening to and
enjoying the versatility of the banjo playing on this disc, which
transcends the usual Scruggs or old-time styles while being fully
recognizable as a banjo. The jug, kazoo, and washboard work is
also great and shows that these things can be “true” instruments
and not just novelties. The musical saw in Stomp Rag is downright
beautiful. The glockenspiel in Stealin’ was surprisingly
unexpected and worked well.
The arrangements of the songs on this disc are also great. Since
Stealin’ was my introduction to jug band music, I tend to judge a
jug band by how they play this song. The instruments, lead, and
harmony vocals brought out the best of a song that, as much as I
love it, is probably overdone at this point. The take on Mountain
Dew was also nice, bringing it beyond the Grandpa Jones version
and stamping it with the band’s unique style.
The original songs also show talent and the warped sense of vision
one would expect from a modern-day jug band. From the very
tongue-in-cheek Isn’t It Hard Being in a Jug Band to the almost
un-jug band sound of Death of a Jug Band, it is clear that the
members of Escape the Floodwater Jug Band are gifted writers.
Vocally, the disc is a mixed bag, which is pretty standard for
modern-day jug bands. I’m personally not a big fan of the raucous
vocal approach that marks groups like the Kweskin Jug Band; this
band, however, does it well without seeming forced or precious.
They show that they can do more straight ahead vocals, especially
on Stealin’ and Death Of a Jug Band.
Wrong Doings and Done Wrongs is a disc that will get regular
rotation in my CD player, and I feel it is an excellent addition
to any jug band music fan’s collection.
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