Kate McDonnell: ‘Where the Mangoes Are’
THE CD: “Where the Mangoes Are”
by Kate McDonnell
Appleseed APR CD1085
On the web: www.katemcdonnell.com
Kate McDonnell appeared on Mountain Stage last Spring and is a Showcase artist at the upcoming Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, Aug. 24 to 28, in Shepherdstown, W.Va.. She’s a fine songwriter, with enough variety to keep the attention of not-necessarily-fans of the genre (guilty!). “Where the Mangoes Are” is a richly textured recording, and McDonnell has a voice to match her words. Strong and passionate. Check it out. P.S. McDonnell is known for playing the guitar backwards and upside-down. A leftie, she learned how to play by flipping the guitar her way and restringing it backwards.
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THE CD: Dwight Lamb: ‘Hell Agin the Barn Door’
THE CD:“Hell Agin the Barn Door: More Fiddle and Accordion Tunes from the Great Plains” by Dwight Lamb
This is a collection of wonderful parlor and dance tunes from Onawa, Iowa by Dwight Lamb. Hearing Lamb’s superbly unpolished fiddling recalls the sentimental tunes favored by some fiddlers in West Virginia. The great thing about this music is hearing familiar tunes (or bits of them) with strange new titles. Or is that familiar titles with strange new tunes? Lamb, who plays button accordion, fiddle and parlor organ, is joined by Lynn Holsclaw and Gordon McCann on guitar. You can almost see the dancers take to the floor on “Storm.” The sweetly dissonant bowing on “the Fox Chase” brings to mind Kentucky fiddling.
– Paul Gartner
