has changed from being a technical innovation in the '30s -- how it was recorded is as much part of its sound as the musical strands it drew on -- to a continuing tradition, one that harmonica player and fiddler/guitarist/banjo player/singer know well via many years of performing together. , their first duo album and nearly all covers or revamps of songs, finds a way to make old and new work together that's at once clever ( as a banjo/harmonica duet!) and enjoyable -- for all the talk about the vintage microphones used and the sense of forelock-pulling invoked, this feels warm, immediate, and alive instead of like a reverent tribute. (It's not for nothing ' gets a smoking reworking here.) 's singing, compared to much of the weedy revivalism that grounds as a genre into a cul de sac, is strong, clear, and vibrant; one gets the feeling he's singing with a barely suppressed smile at the joy of the music he and create. Catch his suddenly emotional twang on or his lovely high-and-lonesome tones on the album's sole original, for highlights. His playing on various stringed instruments is equally strong, but it by no means overshadows the work of -- he may "only" play one instrument, but he owns that harmonica, ranging from the plaintive train tones on to a peppy rip through 's That the duo can suddenly pull into hyperdrive when it comes to instrumental flash -- finds the two going flat-out nuts on banjo and harmonica, trading off in a way that most Berklee grads probably couldn't approach -- further shows they know their chops and history both. ~ Ned Raggett