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The picture that graces the cover of Meeting on Southern Soil finds Norman Blake and Peter Ostroushko posing in the midst of overgrowth on the edge of a wooded area. Blake, with his pointed beard and old hat, recalls what Vladimir Lenin might have looked like had he grown old in America's South; Ostroushko, donning a black jacket and kneeling, reminds one of a Baptist minister. An incongruous looking pair, perhaps, but a formidable musical team. Meeting on Southern Soil mixes old-time instrumentals with vocals by both parties, creating something akin to a Blake album with a new dimension. Material like "Rise When the Rooster Crows" and "Bunch of Violets" for instance, would have fit comfortably on Blake's recent Flower From the Fields of Alabama; but things take a bizarre twist when the twain cut loose on an instrumental titled "President Richard Milhous Nixon's Hornpipe", a tune that recalls the theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents. While Ostroushko only sings a couple of songs, his vocals bring a crusty southern flavor to "Little Bessie" and "O Death". His delivery, especially on the latter tune, evokes what the Anthology of American Folk Music might have sounded like with a cleaner production. When the duo adds lovely mandolin, fiddle and guitar work to these songs, Meeting on Southern Soil becomes the perfect expression of two musical soul mates. |
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Sing
Out, Spring 2002