Three "Vinyl Hunter" posts in a row, are you tired of these yet? I hope not. I've had a good stretch of picking up some excellent old-time albums on vinyl, and I'm expecting another one soon. For today, however, I received this package from a certain old-time master that contained the 1986 album by Robert Sykes and the Surry County Boys, Black-Eyed Susan.
Released on Heritage Records, the record was still in the shrink wrap. Despite a bit of wear on the corners, the vinyl is in pristine condition. I always find it exciting to break the seal on records that have been sitting around unopened for years.
As I mentioned above, this record came from a a well-known old-time musician who has been mentioned on this blog before. I was watching a live broadcast of Paul Brown and Terri McMurray on Facebook awhile back, and he mentioned having copies of the Sykes LP available. So, after the broadcast, I messaged him and inquired how I could get one. A quick PayPal transmission and a trip courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service, and here it is.
Sykes is perhaps best known for his bluesy version of "Black-Eyed Susan" in the key of A, which has become popular among contemporary old-time musicians. Here's a version by the Bigfoot Stringband. And here's Dan Gellert playing it on banjo, which he also included on his Tiki Parlour release in 2015.
Hearing Sykes play the tune is revelatory. You can hear why so many have sought to emulate it.
But that's not all Sykes was good for! This album features some great playing of chestnuts like "Paddy on the Turnpike," "Old Joe Clark," "Cumberland Gap," "Cacklin' Hen" and others. There is also some fine singing on the album supplied by the backing band.
The playing on the album is superior. Sykes' fiddling is expressive and groovy. He is backed up by Surry County Boys, a band that consists of some other old-time legends: Verlen Clifton on mandolin and vocals, Frank Bode on guitar and vocals, and Brown on banjo. Brown also supplies an excellent essay on Sykes that appears on the back cover.
If you can find a copy of this album, I highly recommend it.
As I mentioned above, this record came from a a well-known old-time musician who has been mentioned on this blog before. I was watching a live broadcast of Paul Brown and Terri McMurray on Facebook awhile back, and he mentioned having copies of the Sykes LP available. So, after the broadcast, I messaged him and inquired how I could get one. A quick PayPal transmission and a trip courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service, and here it is.
Hearing Sykes play the tune is revelatory. You can hear why so many have sought to emulate it.
But that's not all Sykes was good for! This album features some great playing of chestnuts like "Paddy on the Turnpike," "Old Joe Clark," "Cumberland Gap," "Cacklin' Hen" and others. There is also some fine singing on the album supplied by the backing band.
The playing on the album is superior. Sykes' fiddling is expressive and groovy. He is backed up by Surry County Boys, a band that consists of some other old-time legends: Verlen Clifton on mandolin and vocals, Frank Bode on guitar and vocals, and Brown on banjo. Brown also supplies an excellent essay on Sykes that appears on the back cover.
If you can find a copy of this album, I highly recommend it.
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