Search - Holy Modal Rounders :: 1 & 2

Yes, there is a Santa Claus

Paul Galioni | Susanville/Nevada City, CA, USofA | 05/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And he is Euphoric. Just in case if you are wondering if these guys are still as good as they were when your inside voices were a-squealing and a-squawking -- and you were floating around on a belladonna cloud -- they are. One of the best renditions of Cuckoo I know -- and Reuben's Train: -- I do believe Great God I'ma coming Down -- Oh, me, Oh Lordy my, I do believe Great God that I'ma coming down. -- And in better quality than you even thought you were hearing -- even at those times you thought were really funner than things could ever get. One of my all time favorites. These guys are just about the only thing that remains of the 'old time mountain' music that preceded bluegrass and country. This is one of the best parodies of old time mountain that I have ever heard -- You owe it to yourself and to your kids to get this CD set -- you will rock out and your kids will know one of the many reasons you are so, well, unbalanced."

Like a time capsule

Elliot Knapp | Seattle, Washington United States | 04/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This excellently-priced 2-albums-on-1-CD compilation is like a dream come true; it combines the first two albums of folk-reimaginers the Holy Modal Rounders, with the tracks resequenced according to the Rounders' preference and adding two bonus tracks. These guys are great--if you're a fan of old folk like the kind found on the landmark collection Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith), you're the kind of person who will absolutely love this.



In general, the type of music on these two albums is acoustic folk played and sung by two vocalists, a fiddle and a guitar or banjo. True, the vocals are TOTALLY unorthodox--both singers affect old-timey, goofy, and nasally voices (that could be a bit grating to casual listeners) but are really unique and a load of fun, if you're willing to accept a bit of weirdness in the mix. The Rounders play traditional folk songs (usual suspects like "The Cuckoo," "Mole In the Ground," "Same Old Man," and "Sail Away, Ladies" are present, though re-arranged and tweaked by the Rounders in the spirit of folk music), but they also play originals and contemporary folk songs, and great ones at that.



"Blues In the Bottle" introduces them both quite well, with zany harmonies and a classic guitar/fiddle combo, the song could have been 100 years old, but was written by the Rounders. Some other great newer songs include the hilarious "Hesitating Blues," the sly satire of "Mr. Spaceman," and the broke-down spirit of "Junko Partner." It's impossible to listen to this music without picking up some of the spirit of fun, recklessness, and crazy smart-aleck antics that the Rounders conjure up in spades.



In many ways, I think of these guys as sort of an American Incredible String Band, twisting and reshaping the folk music traditions of their country to produce songs that equally recall folk music that could well be hundreds of years old, but are also urgently current and fresh. Of course, it's not a perfect comparison, since the Incredible String Band had a more mystical bent and were more interested in breaking down the barriers of songwriting structure and expectations, while the Rounders seem more content to keep the ball rolling--but a similar spirit and eccentricity is certainly shared. This is partly why I'm not so sure I agree with the band members' claims in the liner notes, which basically say the Holy Modal Rounders play music in a way that no one else in the world ever has. It's true that nobody else in the 60's folk revival took quite as anarchic or willfully crazy approach to the old songs (most were earnestly reverent), but the Rounders weren't the first or only group or songwriters to revive old folk songs or write similar new songs in the same idiom. Rather, it's more like they were two of the few 60's musicians to truly participate in the folk tradition by not only playing, but also altering, tweaking, and "telephoning" the songs into versions of their own design, which is what the ever-shifting folk tradition is all about. Bob Dylan's wholesale appropriation of classic folk melodies and chord progressions as the basis for his own songs is another example of true folk tradition participation that comes to mind. Anyway, folk music theory and history discussion aside, this is great, eccentric folk that never broke beyond cult status--if you're here reading this, you'll probably enjoy the delightfully heady brew that the Rounders concocted in the 60's for us to continue enjoying today."