Chickens Don't Roost Too High

Album Review

The second album by this thoroughly charming northern Alabama string band improves on the first by adding the vocals of Carole Griffin and slightly improving the production quality, but for the most part it's just more of the glorious same old thing: old-time fiddle tunes and obscure songs culled from various Southern traditions and delivered with the band's trademark casual near-virtuosity and infectious good cheer. As always, Bill Martin's autoharp and Jamie Finley's banjo ukulele add an idiosyncratic element to the group's sound, and while fans of mainstream old-time music (mainstream old-time music?) will miss the clawhammer-style five-string banjo that is normally present, only the truly curmudgeonly will object to the final product. Especially noteworthy are the sweetly sung "Dixie Darling" and the rollicking title track, as well as the jazzy "Newborn Blues." Highly recommended.