Here's a treat for fans of Americana/Appalachian/Irish themed music -- not one, but two new albums by folk icon Tim O'Brien. Fiddler's Green takes its name from a traditional bluegrass tune that details an imaginary Heaven where sailors go after they die. The songs contained here follow the themes of death, life, and everything in between.
As with most O'Brien works, a plethora of amazingly talented guests appear on these discs. "Look Down that Lonesome Road" features Dan Tyminski trading vocals with O'Brien, while "Fair Flowers of the Valley" is a duet with Tim and his wife, Mollie. "Foreign Lander" is notable due to the presence of Edgar Meyer on bass.
Mandolin wizard Chris Thile, who some are calling the best musician on the planet, guests on "Train on the Island," and "Early Morning Rain," an old Gordon Lightfoot tune. "Buffalo Skinners" is the standout for O'Brien vocally, with a crisp intonation that falls somewhere between Steve Earle and Bill Mallonee.
Fiddler's Green is the more Irish of the two discs, but Cornbread Nation reveals that the connection between Ireland and the American South is firmly entrenched within the music.
On the latter, O'Brien's vocals occasionally come across as the Americana equivalent to jazz artist Leon Redbone. Tyminski is along for the ride again on a traditional version of "House of the Risin' Sun," along with Jerry Douglas. The title track, "Cornbread Nation," is a cross between Randy Travis and Steve Earle vocally.
"Moses" is a long tune based on Negro spirituals, and "California Blues" is O'Brien's take on a Jimmie Rodgers song. The disc is filled with pictures of the Old South, with tunes like "Walkin' Boss," "Boat Up the River," which somehow evokes Huck Finn, and "When This World Comes to an End."
O'Brien has given us twenty-four songs that wander through folk music, both in current form and in its ancestry. The result is nothing short of stunning. Fiddler's Green has a slight edge over its Southern counterpart, but both albums stand well on their own, or played back to back.
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