Twenty-one tracks from his Folkways album, including his accomplished, somber renditions of standards such as
"House of the Rising Sun,"
"Moonshiner," "Trouble in Mind," and "Motherless Children."
Holcomb
is a big favorite among musicians and folklorists --
Bob Dylan
, for one, is a big fan -- yet it must be said that this is probably too authentic for most listeners to play for pleasure. It's straight from the bone, with high, at times harsh vocals that make no concession to popular cliches to make things easier on the ear. That's one thing which makes the parallel to
Dylan
easy to see. The banjo playing is impressive, and the anthology is embellished by lengthy liner notes and recollections by
John Cohen
. ~ Richie Unterberger