Search - Chad Manning :: Old Gnarly Oak

Performances are always solid and sometimes exceptional

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 08/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From my nwbluegrass reviewing friend, Matt Snook:



I suppose that when I volunteered to review some albums for the list, I most anticipated the opportunity to hear new works by my favorite performers. While this is definitely a bonus, it doesn't expand my musical sphere much, since I would probably acquire those albums eventually in any case. The alternative is to receive something completely unknown to me (not hard when you realize how many recordings are produced each year), and hear some music that would otherwise never have crossed my path. So when I received the package from Joe Ross in the mail today it was a toss of the coin with no losing side, leading to my first encounter with fiddler Chad Manning!



When I first hear somebody like Chad Manning, I realize that only a cloistered life behind a big gate might have excused the fact that I haven't heard of him before. I can plead no good excuse and neither should you: get this album. Chad is a great fiddler and writer. All 13 tracks on this album are fiddle tunes, eight of them composed by Chad.



While this is a fiddler's album, there is something for everybody. Only three of the tunes ("Apple Blossom," "Crafton's Blues," and "Cold Rolled Steel") were done in what I would call "contest" style; fiddle variations with only "Claribell" (no explanation) and a boom-chick tenor guitar for accompaniment. These three, according to the liner notes, were all recorded in Chad's living room "on a stormy night," and showcase Chad's ability to provide endless variations on some great tunes, after the tradition of dance or contest fiddlers.



On the majority of tunes Chad has the benefit of a pretty substantial bluegrass band: Cindy Browne on bass; Jim Nunally (also recording engineer and co-producer), Chris Clouse, and Scott Nygaard on guitars; David Grisman on mandolin; Bill Evans on banjo; Ivan Rosenberg on resophonic guitar and clawhammer banjo; Darin Meeks on "Claribell;" Rob Ickes on resophonic guitar; Annie Staninec providing harmony fiddle; and Kevin Mummey or 'zarb' (again no explanation). There are danceable tunes like "Fast Ruby" and "Cumberland Gap;" two intriguing waltzes, and blazing performances on Manning original "When that Whistle Blows" and "Roanoke" (by bluegrass performer Bill Monroe).



Two of the tracks caught my attention, and both are duets. For "Old Gnarly Oak" Chad trades leads and harmony on a fiddle-mandolin duet with David Grisman; and "Liar at the Crossroads" is a fiddle-clawhammer banjo ballad with plenty of melodic and rhythmic twists to keep the ear entertained.



Track eight, "Crimson Flats," is my favorite song on the album, but also emphasizes the only shortcoming of the CD. This song is probably the most creative effort by the group, but suffers along with the rest of the recording with a rather muddy recording mix. Cindy Browne especially is doing some really captivating things on the bass, I think. Throughout most of the CD the fiddle, banjo and resophonic guitar are right up front: every nuance and texture is heard and felt. The guitars show up occasionally, but any dynamics are flattened or muffled. The bass, well, the bass is lost. The bass is audible as a throb in the background, but since all attack is muffled, she always sounds half a beat behind. Still, the leads come through satisfactorily and the performances are always solid and sometimes exceptional, which covers any weakness of the recording technique.



If you like fiddling, bluegrass instrumentals, or original music with a traditional character, this is it! (Matt Snook, reviewer for the Nwbluegrass Yahoogroup)

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