look: Mary Flower - Instrumental Breakdown - Yellow Dog Records # 1362 - BUY

listen:

Track 1

Track 4

Track 5

Guitarist Mary Flower has kicked back & forth between vocal and instrumental song writing her entire career. Her latest CD is a menagerie of songs void of lyrical accompaniment, all falling into the more traditional finger picking styles of folk, blues and ragtime favorites mostly from previously released material. Ms Flower is seemingly a virtuoso of this long forgotten genre. Even more impressive is her astonishing abilities on slide guitar. Her sense of timing and melody is both riveting and influential, as is her versatility of material composition. Fortunately the play list is 20 tracks long. A tune never before released by Mary is Memphis Minnie's "Black Rat Swing," the only non-original on the CD.

Several featured guests appear on these older tunes consisting of a stellar array of talent like Pat Donohue who co-wrote "Arkansas Ramble" featuring a lazy slide by Mary who drives a prominent Delta groove. Pat also appears on the sad and leisurely pace of "Song for Samantha." Washboard Chaz shows up on the whimsical mountain cry of "Maplewood" alongside Matt Perrine on sousaphone giving the track an old time flavor. Chaz & Matt also join in on "Hobo's Hop" and "Ragtime Gal," the title track to a previous release. Jon Cleary plays the piano on "Raise the Devil" which gives a slight classical touch that is effective alongside a more simplistic tonic chord. Two waltzes are included here with the melancholy "Good News Waltz," and "Three Sisters Waltz," which is reminiscent of a European ballad as the soft accordion provides an old world twist to the recording. The title track of "Ladyfingers" features jug and tub bass extraordinaire Fritz Richmond whom I believe passed away several years ago. The soft tambourine tap of Steve Amed'ee and Richmond's jug provide yet another folksy mountain tune with Mary delicately attacking the Banjo. The dreamy composition of "Hudson River Rag" is quite sensual, while Dr. Michael White's clarinet on the swaying "Terminal Rag" takes you back to New Orleans. Ross Martin's baritone guitar duals with Mary in a beautiful pattern of intertwinement on the somber "Monon Blues." Another tune yet to be released until now is "Hula Hoedown" with slide guitar by Mary, Tony Furtado's banjo and Jesse Wither's string bass. "La Grippe", off of "Bywater Dance" is a mysterious melody of walking chord work, which traverses the scale. There are many more songs not mentioned here that are worth the surprise.

For the pure traditionalist who loves all the old time genres of music Mary Flower has hit the Easy Button for you.

(©) 2007, Dirk Wissbaum
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