Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Remixed
Scoring mostly sonic triumphs--with a few awkward stylistic conflicts--Tangle Eye blend the Southern voices musicologistAlan Lomaxrecorded for the Library of Congress between 1947 and 1960 with hip-hop beats, New Orleans funk, bluegrass, and other genres. When the duo, producers Scott Billington and Steve Reynolds, hit the mark, the results are spellbinding. "Hangman," which blends Almeda Riddle's wraith-like Arkansas folksinging with Crescent City drumming, Nashville fiddle, and Mississippi fife-and-drum music, transcends its eras and elements to create its own hypnotic realm. So does "Drownded," which builds an ethereal nest of Dobro, church organ, and drums for Mrs. Sydney Carter's melodious alto delivery of the spiritual "Pharoah." On the other hand, there's "John Henry," which pairs a horribly cheesy lounge-funk arrangement with convict Ed Lewis's chanting voice, robbing him and his tribal beat of their raw spirit. The trouble here is terminal competence: sometimes Tangle Eye and their studio musicians sound a bit too slick and pat to carry any emotional weight.--Ted Drozdowski