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Town Rill is a one-man outfit led by Birger Olsen of Oregon. For his
various projects, Olsen surrounds himself with diverse musicians. His
latest CD makes use of a full band for the first time, and all the
members hail from Portland, Oregon. Previous CDs were either released
under his own name, solo, or with a smaller group. Old Ways is a
32-minute-long delight for lovers of folk, country blues and acoustic
folk blues with hints of jug band and music from New Orleans.
It is music that calls to mind Geoff Muldaur, Taj Mahal, or a bluesy
John Sebastian, but with a rough and penetrating voice that resembles
Tony Joe White and John Hammond. In addition to singing, Olsen also
plays a selection of guitars, banjo and mandolin. He is accompanied by
percussionist Clifford Koufman, tuba player Jake Pegg, bassist and
keyboard player Jim Prescott - whom we know from G Love and Special
Sauce - and singer Alison Rice who makes an appearance in the duet Aunt
Faye's. The prominence of the tuba in some of the songs gives them a
distant New Orleans feel, referring to Chocolate On My Cheeks, Heavy
Load and Bucket For My Troubles, tunes that put you in a good mood. The
acoustic folk blues song His Old Ways could have come straight from a
Taj Mahal repertoire. The keyboards in Won't Get There Sooner provide
for a distinct bluesy R&B feel.
For the final track
Mister Jayhawk, Olsen breaks out his banjo, resulting in a pretty folk
ditty, its lyrics pulled straight from a 1953 travel brochure about
Kansas. How does he come up with this stuff? Nice album for folky blues
enthusiasts.
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my latest album
Town Rill -
Old Ways
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