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12/03 Lonestar Time
Lauren Sheehan can be defined as a "songster", one of those musicians, of which there where many in the past, that had a large repertory of folk, blues, country and gospel, in short, a vast supply of American traditional songs. Equipped with an excellent guitar technique and a powerful voice, Lauren takes us on a trip through music and time when the sonorous borders between black and white music were absolutely ephemeral and the 2 cultures influenced one another. The passing of a piece (of music) to the other was natural and this gives us an account of how they may have sound roots that are generally considered separate. It goes therefore from the blues of "Trouble in Mind", "Weeping Willow Blues", "C.C.Rider", "Creole Bell", and "Shake That Thing" (the last 2 from M.J. Hurt, one of the greats of the past who mixed folk and blues) to the Anglo-Scottish-Irish ballads which became an integral part of the American estate with "House Carpenter", "Say Darlinâ Say", and "Little Margie". Among the other interesting moments of this "Some Old Lonesome Day", a disk in which the general mood is relaxed and calm, there are "Rattlesnake Mountain" from Jimmy Driftwood (remember his "Battle of New Orleans" done by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band?) sung a cappella, "Living in the Country" from Pete Seeger, "Wonât You Come &Sing For Me" from the great Appalachian singer Hazel Dickens, "The Monkey & The Engineer" from Jesse Fuller (another important ãsongster) learned through a concert of the Grateful Dead, and "The Werewolf" from Micheal Hurley, a piece that is an example of the special sound of Lauren Sheehan, which is between folk and blues. Among the collaborators of Lauren Sheehan one must not forget to mention the marvelous harmonica player Phil Wiggins, always inspired and brilliant, Stephen "Sammy" Lind on banjo and fiddle, Peter "Spud" Siegel on mandolin and, in one song, the skillful Billy Oskay on harmonium, sound engineer and musician of the Pacific Northwest. Contact and information on Lauren Sheehan: write to her email address, lsheehan@earthlink.net or visit her website: www.laurensheehanmusic.com.


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