Practice Night With The Skillet Lickers (with Part 1)
Practice Night With The Skillet Lickers (with Part 2)
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When it comes to music and musicians, certain things are timeless. The Skillet Lickers sold millions of records, fought with one other, and broke up, as thousands of other bands have done. They also -- two and a half years after breaking up -- decided to return to the studio and record again. This was back in the '20s and '30s, before reunions became a cottage industry. Conspicuously absent from this recording is the fiddler Clayton McMichen, who played a central role in smoothing out the Skillet Lickers' early sound. This leaves fiddler/banjoist Gid Tanner, his fiddler son Gordon, and guitarist Riley Puckett to carry the weight of these recordings. In many ways this recording is a departure for the Skillet Lickers. There are fewer vocals from Puckett, less falsetto harmony from Tanner, and a greater number of instrumentals. Despite or because of these differences, the music on this album is as striking and powerful as anything the band recorded. There is a fun cover of "Tra-Le-La-La" that begins with the lyric "There was an old lady from Nantucket," and one can only imagine what an uncensored version might include. Tanner offers a nice vocal on "I Ain't No Better Now" while Puckett sings the lively "Ida Red." Of course, no Skillet Lickers performance would be complete without a sketch or two, and this disc includes "Prosperity and Politics" and "Practice Night With the Skillet Lickers." While fans of the original Skillet Lickers may bemoan the loss of McMichen from the lineup, these songs and instrumentals prosper just fine without him. The Skillet Lickers, Vol. 6 features 67 minutes of lively string-band recordings and is sure to please old-time music lovers. ~ Ronnie Lankford, Jr.