CMH Records

*****

Originally recorded and released in 1981, this tribute to old-timey hillbilly fiddle-player-vocalist Clayton McMichen, is a pure listening joy from beginning to end. The 26-song set, now being digitally released for the first time, belongs in the collection of every fan who loves bluegrass, traditional mountain music and outstanding picking and singing. Knowledgeable fans will already have a dozen reasons to own it. But think of the uninitiated, who don’t know about Clayton McMichen and know little or nothing about the roots of bluegrass. If they are even mildly curious to go back to the work of the master himself, traditional mountain music can’t help but gain new admirers. Sadly, long overlooked in the annals of country music, Georgia-born McMichen was something of a musical pioneer and virtuoso. Though steeped in hillbilly music, throughout a life devoted to music, he performed fiddle tunes to pop songs of the day, embracing jazz, dance numbers, blues tunes and country ballads. In short, he was one of country music’s first cross-over stars. His initial success came with Arkansas Traveler, which won him second place at the 1922 Atlanta Fiddlers’ Convention. Four years later he began recording with Gid Tanner & the Skillet Lickers, becoming one of the top country acts of the 1920s. He scored his biggest solo hit in 1927 with Sweet Bunch Of Roses, selling over 100,000 records. One of his best-known tunes was Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia, recorded by Jimmie Rodgers. In the 1930s he formed the Georgia Wildcats, the band included at various times guitarists Slim Bryant and Merle Travis and fiddler Carl Cotner and recorded extensively for Decca Records. He retired from touring in 1955, but returned in 1964 to play the Newport Folk Festival, Bean Blossom and continued to perform until shortly before his death in 1970 at 70 years of age.

It goes without saying that country and bluegrass is part of a timeless tradition that’s been carried forward from one generation to the next. Even those artists and ensembles that publicly profess the need to add their own individual elements to the mix, will generally cite their reverence for the roots as well. Both Merle Travis and Joe Maphis were guitar men and their music is inherently guitar driven. They never insist the instrument upon you in the music in any kind of imposing way. Its presence, while always very much there in the moment, is expertly blended and always seems to know when to pull back and is perfectly suited to these tunes. They are joined by Jackson D. Kane and Fiddlin’ Red Herron plus Mac Wiseman on vocals and guitar. But this is no pseudo mountain music: It’s wholly informed by its timeless trappings and true sense of esoteric legacy.

The music is as earnest and effusive as any bluegrass collection of a decidedly vintage variety. Like any form of popular music, bluegrass is at its best when it’s lively, upbeat and given a populist perspective. Some tunes are firecrackers, some are dynamite, and others are slower and more reflective as befits the country music genre. For example, instrumental numbers Waiting For The Robert E. Lee and Fifty Years Ago Waltz honour the stringband origins of bluegrass and country music whilst highlighting Red Herron as a top-flight fiddle player. The energy, fingering techniques, are all proponents that deliver substance with a modicum of joy. There aren’t any low points, missteps or loss of heat in any of these melodies. Fire On the Mountain is a workout that smokes, sheer perfection from first note to last. While the lighthearted I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover and the sway and sashay of Sweet Georgia Brown and In the Blue Hills Of Virginia provide an amount of casual caress. The folk tune, They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree,showcases cascading flatpicking guitar and Mac Wiseman’s timeless vocals, while the spiraling minor-chord guitar picking and haunting fiddle provides the foundation for the desolate In The Pines mountain ballad. The overall vibe of the record is more eclectic than bluegrass, designed to open the eyes and ears of people who may not be aware of the great music Clayton McMichen created during his life, and the many varied artists he influenced over his 50-year career.

www.cmhrecords.com

February 2025