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After being friends and occasional picking partners for over a quarter century, string wizards Norman Blake and Peter Ostroushko finally found the time to make this wonderfully no-frills recording, abetted only by Nancy Blake on occasional cello. On most of the largely traditional repertoire included. the pair resort to the classic guitar (Blake) and fiddle or mandolin (Ostroushko) duet with wonderful results. The overall feel of this recording is one of two old friends sitting on the front porch picking out old favorites, focusing on time-tested tunes ("Blackberry Blossom", Muddy Creek") from the rural South. Blake demonstrates his affection for railroads as he croons his lazy "Blake's Railroad Blues", and Ostroushko's melancholy fiddle tune "Chickamauga" faithfully evokes the sadness that lingers over the Civil war battleground after which it was named. Blake and Ostroushko form a sympatico team, and Meeting on Southern Soil displays their traditional side at its best. |
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Dirty
Linen, June-July 2002