Carolina Chocolate Drops - Heritage '2007

Tracks list

Heritage isnt exactly a proper album; its more of a compilation of various
songs, both in studio and live from concerts, from the well from which the
Carolina Chocolate Drops dip to showcase their love for and homage to early
American roots music. They are well-educated across the board on styles of music
long forgotten by many, and so, in that right, theres a certain charm to the
listening experience, almost as if the music is spinning on a Victorola. That
knowledge carries over into the liner notes, where group member Dom Flemons
gives a brief description of the history of each song on the disc. Its a nice
touch that allows the listening audience to get further acquainted with the
history of these songs, given that many of them are at least 75 years old.
Musically, the styles run the gamut, including an a cappella Rhiannon Giddens in
Po Lazarus that sounds like a Baptist revival in its presentation before you
realize its the dirge of an escaped convict. Originally made popular by Vera
Hall, who was given a reintroduction to pop culture in 1999 with Mobys Trouble
so Hard, Giddens operatically trained voice is up to the task with her quivering
vibrato.

Elsewhere, Dont Get Trouble in Your Mind is one of the most fun songs in the
Carolina Chocolate Drops canon. This version is from a festival in St. Louis
circa 2006 and translates live as well as it does in the studio version on a
later release (Genuine Negro Jig) in their catalog. Jack Of Diamonds, with its
knee-slap percussion, and Short Life of Trouble are two waltzes that bridge one
side of the album to the other. Given their expertise on early American music,
its fitting that the embedded bonus video interview is filmed in what looks to
be a library. Theyre true students of the game, and sew another patch into the
woven tapestry of music. Heritage delves into the cultures of bluegrass and
African American string bands with results that mostly that this type of music
is still alive due because of its emphasis on storytelling and keen
musicianship. The Carolina Chocolate Drops have these in spades, and despite the
fact that nearly all the material is not original, they breathe life into the
recordings, proving theyre a band to be reckoned with in roots music.

1.01 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Another Man Done Gone (2:14)
1.02 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Wayward Gal (3:34)
1.03 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Dont Get Trouble In Your Mind (3:00)
1.04 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Black Eye Blues (3:20)
1.05 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Georgie Buck (2:50)
1.06 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Earl King (3:40)
1.07 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Jack ODiamonds (2:47)
1.08 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Short Life Of Trouble (3:05)
1.09 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Po Lazarus (3:21)
1.10 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Ricketts Hornpipe (2:50)
1.11 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Cornbread And Butter Beans (3:30)
1.12 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Bye-Bye Policeman (2:18)
1.13 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Real Old Mountain Dew (3:23)
1.14 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Sittin On Top Of The World (3:28)
1.15 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Banjo Dreams / Jalidong (5:14)
1.16 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Gambia (1:20)

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