CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS
''LEAVING EDEN''
FEBRUARY 27 2012
44:19
1 /Riro's House
Traditional/2:05
2 /Kerr's Negro Jig
Traditional/1:09
3 /Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?
Cousin Emmy/3:48
4 /Boodle-De-Bum-Bum
Ben Curry / Dom Flemons / Traditional/4:04
5 /Country Girl
Rhiannon Giddens / Lalenja Harrington / Adam Matta/3:23
6 /Run Mountain
J.E. Mainer/2:03
7 /Leaving Eden
Laurelyn Dossett/4:36
8 /Read 'Em John
Traditional/1:55
9 /Mahalla
Hannes Coetzee/1:55
10 /West End Blues
Etta Baker / Rhiannon Giddens/3:03
11 /Po' Black Sheep
Traditional/3:22
12 /I Truly Understand That You Love Another Man
George Roarke / Traditional/2:36
13 /No Man's Mama
Lew Pollack / Jack Yellen/4:02
14 /Briggs' Corn Shucking Jig/Camptown Hornpipe
Traditional/2:56
15 /Pretty Bird
Hazel Dickens/4:06
Dom Flemons /4-String Banjo, Arranger, Composer, Drums (Bass), Drums (Snare), Guitar, Jug, Quills, Vocals
Hubby Jenkins /5-string Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Adam Matta /Bass (Vocal), Beat Box, Composer, Tambourine, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Leyla McCalla /Cello, Vocals (Background)
Rhiannon Giddens /5-string Banjo, Arranger, Composer, Fiddle, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
The Carolina Chocolate Drops, a contemporary string band trio who, under the watchful eye of mentor Joe Thompson, re-created the look, feel, and sound of a 19th century black North Carolina string, fiddle, and jug band ensemble, crafted their first studio recordings into perfect facsimiles of the group's influences. The Drops were always at their best on-stage, however, where the gospel stomp of those mountain rhythms and the kinetic energy the band gave off completed the feel of a living, breathing history lesson. Those old string bands could turn on a dime, and the Chocolate Drops reproduced that art, turning their live sets into a black string band revival show. The studio albums felt like they were a bit encased in glass compared to the live performances. For this outing, however, the Chocolate Drops found the perfect producer in Buddy Miller, who recorded the band live in a single room, and the result is a wonderfully immediate album that feels like a Saturday night house party-- complete with moonlight, dust flying from the carpet under the feet of dancers, and crickets and night bird calls out the open windows. The sound breathes, and The Drops shine. Traditional pieces like "Po' Black Sheep" become stomping revivals, born again in a new century. "Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?" becomes a clawhammer banjo-driven mountain blues, with Rhiannon Giddens' vocal making it seem like Janis Joplin just wandered into the party, a feat she repeats with the album's marvelous last track, "Pretty Bird" (complete with crickets in the background). The Carolina Chocolate Drops may be intent on reproducing a sound from over a century ago, but they do an amazing job of translating it into the 21st century without diminishing it. This set feels like a Saturday night throw down under the summer stars. It almost seems timeless, perhaps because it defies time.
BIOGRAPHY
by Paula Carino
The three full-time members of the string band known as the Carolina Chocolate Drops (Dom Flemons on guitar, jug, and harmonica, Rhiannon Giddens on banjo and fiddle, and Justin Robinson on banjo and fiddle -- Sule Greg Wilson sometimes sits in on percussion) met in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, drawn together by their mutual love of bluegrass, "jass," jug music, and prehistoric country and rock. The acoustic musicians play a lively combination of standards and originals in these styles, sporting tongue-in-cheek, old-timey outfits and a spirited irreverence that barely disguises their technical facility. Their 2006 debut, Dona Got a Ramblin Mind, was released on the Music Maker label to wide acclaim, and they recorded three additional independent albums before their first widely distributed album, Genuine Negro Jig, appeared on Nonesuch in 2010. The group's next release on the label, which appeared early in 2011, was a four-song EP recorded with the New York City-based Romanian Gypsy punk band the Luminescent Orchestrii. Robinson left the group that same year and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins was added. The group augmented things further with New Orleans-based cellist Leyla McCalla and beat box specialist Adam Matta for 2012's full-length Leaving Eden, which was produced by Buddy Miller.
''LEAVING EDEN''
FEBRUARY 27 2012
44:19
1 /Riro's House
Traditional/2:05
2 /Kerr's Negro Jig
Traditional/1:09
3 /Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?
Cousin Emmy/3:48
4 /Boodle-De-Bum-Bum
Ben Curry / Dom Flemons / Traditional/4:04
5 /Country Girl
Rhiannon Giddens / Lalenja Harrington / Adam Matta/3:23
6 /Run Mountain
J.E. Mainer/2:03
7 /Leaving Eden
Laurelyn Dossett/4:36
8 /Read 'Em John
Traditional/1:55
9 /Mahalla
Hannes Coetzee/1:55
10 /West End Blues
Etta Baker / Rhiannon Giddens/3:03
11 /Po' Black Sheep
Traditional/3:22
12 /I Truly Understand That You Love Another Man
George Roarke / Traditional/2:36
13 /No Man's Mama
Lew Pollack / Jack Yellen/4:02
14 /Briggs' Corn Shucking Jig/Camptown Hornpipe
Traditional/2:56
15 /Pretty Bird
Hazel Dickens/4:06
Dom Flemons /4-String Banjo, Arranger, Composer, Drums (Bass), Drums (Snare), Guitar, Jug, Quills, Vocals
Hubby Jenkins /5-string Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Adam Matta /Bass (Vocal), Beat Box, Composer, Tambourine, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Leyla McCalla /Cello, Vocals (Background)
Rhiannon Giddens /5-string Banjo, Arranger, Composer, Fiddle, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
The Carolina Chocolate Drops, a contemporary string band trio who, under the watchful eye of mentor Joe Thompson, re-created the look, feel, and sound of a 19th century black North Carolina string, fiddle, and jug band ensemble, crafted their first studio recordings into perfect facsimiles of the group's influences. The Drops were always at their best on-stage, however, where the gospel stomp of those mountain rhythms and the kinetic energy the band gave off completed the feel of a living, breathing history lesson. Those old string bands could turn on a dime, and the Chocolate Drops reproduced that art, turning their live sets into a black string band revival show. The studio albums felt like they were a bit encased in glass compared to the live performances. For this outing, however, the Chocolate Drops found the perfect producer in Buddy Miller, who recorded the band live in a single room, and the result is a wonderfully immediate album that feels like a Saturday night house party-- complete with moonlight, dust flying from the carpet under the feet of dancers, and crickets and night bird calls out the open windows. The sound breathes, and The Drops shine. Traditional pieces like "Po' Black Sheep" become stomping revivals, born again in a new century. "Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?" becomes a clawhammer banjo-driven mountain blues, with Rhiannon Giddens' vocal making it seem like Janis Joplin just wandered into the party, a feat she repeats with the album's marvelous last track, "Pretty Bird" (complete with crickets in the background). The Carolina Chocolate Drops may be intent on reproducing a sound from over a century ago, but they do an amazing job of translating it into the 21st century without diminishing it. This set feels like a Saturday night throw down under the summer stars. It almost seems timeless, perhaps because it defies time.
BIOGRAPHY
by Paula Carino
The three full-time members of the string band known as the Carolina Chocolate Drops (Dom Flemons on guitar, jug, and harmonica, Rhiannon Giddens on banjo and fiddle, and Justin Robinson on banjo and fiddle -- Sule Greg Wilson sometimes sits in on percussion) met in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, drawn together by their mutual love of bluegrass, "jass," jug music, and prehistoric country and rock. The acoustic musicians play a lively combination of standards and originals in these styles, sporting tongue-in-cheek, old-timey outfits and a spirited irreverence that barely disguises their technical facility. Their 2006 debut, Dona Got a Ramblin Mind, was released on the Music Maker label to wide acclaim, and they recorded three additional independent albums before their first widely distributed album, Genuine Negro Jig, appeared on Nonesuch in 2010. The group's next release on the label, which appeared early in 2011, was a four-song EP recorded with the New York City-based Romanian Gypsy punk band the Luminescent Orchestrii. Robinson left the group that same year and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins was added. The group augmented things further with New Orleans-based cellist Leyla McCalla and beat box specialist Adam Matta for 2012's full-length Leaving Eden, which was produced by Buddy Miller.
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