Meeting on Southern Soil
On their first full-length collaboration, these two topnotch acoustic  instrumentalists lead a picturesque tour down the back roads of American music,  from frisky fiddle tunes to loping blues to mournful country ballads. Norman  Blake supplies his beautifully rolling guitar work and homespun vocals on  traditional gems like "Only a Bunch of Violets" (learned, like many other tunes  here, from vintage 78s), while Peter Ostroushko expertly switch-hits on  mandolin, mandola, and fiddle while evoking his Eastern European heritage  (Ukraine via Minneapolis) on original instrumentals such as "President Richard  Milhous Nixon's Hornpipe." "Blake's Railroad Blues" drags a bit during its  nearly nine-minute ride, and Ostroushko is a much stronger player than singer  (he pipes up on two grim traditional songs--"Little Bessie" and "Oh Death"), but  these are minor quibbles given all the sweet melodies and fine picking to be  found here.--Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers