Red House records artist: Charlie Parr - Stumpjumper - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (April 28, 2015), Stumpjumper, from Charlie Parr and it's a dandy! With his wailing vocals and deft finger picking on his resonator, he gets the set started with Evil Companion. backed by Phil Cook revival like on piano, Ryan Gufstafson on banjo and James Wallace on drums, this track is a real kicker. Empty Out Your Pockets has the sound of a field holler backed by a nice banjo roll and only minimal percussion, rhythm and slide by Parr and Emily Parr on vocal harmony. Very nice! Falcon has a really rural feel... gutsy strumming and bluesy vocals. Remember Me If I Forget is a fast paced folk track with a finger picking /slide technique reminiscent of Leo Kottke. Nicely blended with Emily Parr fits nicely with the overall country blues feel. On Marrying a Woman With an Uncontrollable Temper has a real bluegrass basis but just that twist of blues that is present in the humble roots of all American music. Very nice! The most contemporary folk ballad on the release is Over The Red Cedar, a track with a simple forward melody/harmony blending and cleanly articulated guitar picking. Resurrection has a real swampy sound of original delta blues. A lone resonator guitar with slide and simple vocal melody makes this track particularly effective. Title track Stumpjumper is a uptempo foot stomper with nice resonator slide backing. Simple snare work from Wallace is particularly effective in focus. Temperance River Blues is another simple country blues but with a waltz tempo in this case. Emily is particularly successful in creating the country harmony and Charlie in capturing the rudimentary slide. Frank Miller Blues is a cool acoustic blues track with resonator and drums. Parr hits the blues square on vocally and his guitar pacing is relentless. Cool! Wrapping the release is Delia with a simple soft touch. Keeping the strings on the minimal percussive side, parr carries the track almost exclusively on his strong vocals. Very nice close to a particularly acute country/folk/blues roots release.

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