Password
The problem with most postmodern pastiches (aside from the soulless chill of their irony) is the practitioners' often cursory knowledge of the cut-and-pasted genres. Geoff Muldaur has been seamlessly combining musical styles for decades. From 1963 with theJim Kweskin Jug Band, through his duet records with then  wifeMaria, to hisBetter Daystenure and later solo work, Muldaur has lent his distinctive, bluesy, soul-drenched vibrato to tunes by everyone fromBlind Lemon JeffersontoJimmie RodgerstoHoagy Carmichael. The man thinks nothing of combining violin, bassoon, clarinet, and French horn intoEllingtonian textures for a cowboy waltz ("Prairie Lullaby") or putting a string section and an accordion on aCharley Pattontune ("Some of These Days"). All this is done in an irony-free zone of innocent enthusiasm combined with a thorough knowledge of the song's roots.Passwordadmits purchasers into an exclusive club where lovers of American popular music are treated to performances of blues, country, and gospel songs that are neither purist nor "pomo," but just perfect.--Michael Ross