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JASON CADE & ROB MCMAKEN - Hog-Eyed Man 2

JASON CADE & ROB MCMAKEN - Hog-Eyed Man 2
Yodel-Ay-Hee YODELAYHEE091

Barely a year on from this duo’s debut disc, which I reviewed here in these pages, comes its “more of the same” sequel – and it’s just as fine (if not finer) a collection of honest, unadulterated southern Appalachian old-time music, recorded live in just two mornings at the end of May this year.

Jason Cade (fiddle) and Rob McMaken (mandolin and lap dulcimer) treat us to a cracking selection of wonderful tunes, many sourced from rare field recordings or handed directly down from fiddlers from eastern Kentucky, western North Carolina and West Virginia. The disc showcases the remarkably wide (and oft unsuspected) emotional range of pre-stringband old-time music, from brilliant breakdowns (Georgia Horseshoe, The Winding Sheep, Lost Indian) to aromatic airs (Green River), stately slow marches (Happy Hollow) to a transposition of a mournful Scots ballad (William Reilly). Jason and Rob show considerable ingenuity and resourcefulness in the revival (and sometimes reconstruction) of these tunes and the intuitive improvisation around their melodies, taking their cues from the spirit of those innovative original fiddlers whom they revere, including John Salyer, Ernie Carpenter and Roy Bennett. The unusual nature of pieces such as Georgia Belles (from Manon Campbell) is creatively explored by Jason and Rob, with a really infectious keen sense of total involvement. And one of the tracks even brings together two treatments of the same tune (Old Beech Leaves) as a lilting waltz and a fun breakdown – and that sense of fun (enjoyment and natural abandon) remains a constant in the two musicians’ playing throughout this record, their commitment and attention to detail being reflected in the concise yet fully informative liner notes.

Like its predecessor, Hog-Eyed Man 2 is highly addictive – trust me!

www.hogeyedman.reverbnation.com

David Kidman


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This album was reviewed in Issue 111 of The Living Tradition magazine.