Dirk Powell - Time Again (2004)

Tracklist

01. Lord, I Used To Know 150 Songs By Heart...
02. Waterbound
03. Goin' Where I've Never Been Before
04. Mother's Little Children
05. Prettiest Little Girl In The County
06. An Old Love Song, Folk Song...
07. Texas Bells
08. My Love Lies In The Ground
09. Honey Babe
10. Police
11. You Used To Play That Cindy...
12. Sally Ann
13. Wish I Had A Dollar
14. Zollie's Retreat
15. Handsome Molly
16. There's A Good Little Lick Right There...
17. Sow 'Em On The Mountain
18. Three Forks Of Cumberland
19. When Sorrows Encompass Me Round

There is not really anyone else like Dirk Powell on the American folk scene. An accomplished clawhammer banjo player, fiddler, and guitarist with a command of about a dozen different Appalachian traditions, he is also an heir (by marriage) to the rich Cajun musical heritage of the Balfa family, and plays a very fine accordion alongside his wife Christine Balfa in the band Balfa Toujours. Time Again focuses on Appalachian material, though, and is a warm and deeply affecting celebration of the music handed down to him by his grandfather and other family members; it includes one of the sweetest and loveliest renditions of "Prettiest Little Girl in the County" ever committed to tape (notice Powell's exquisitely tasteful banjo behind Jim Miller's lead vocal) as well as a wonderful Powell original titled "Waterbound" (no relation to the familiar traditional tune of the same name) and a whole slew of joyful instrumental dance numbers. The album ends with a hidden track that sounds like a home recording of Powell and his grandfather playing "Cripple Creek" together. Very highly recommended.

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