Music From the Lost Provinces Old-Time Stringbands from Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity, 1927-1931, and: Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, vols. 1-3 (review)

music recor· Reviewed by GavinJames Campbell, MusicEditor Music From the Lost Provinces Old-Time Stringbands from Ashe County, North CaroUna & Vicinity, 1927-193 1 Old Hat, 1999 cd 1001, $15.00 Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, vols. 1-3 County, 1998 cd 3501, 3508, 3516, $13.00 each Everyone Uving south of the Mason-Dixon should own Music From the Lost Provinces. This collection of early white stringband recordings from North Carolina's western end captures twenty-two performances with nary a dud among diem. Produced as a labor of love, the cd is superbly remastered and die twenty-six page accompanying booklet provides detaüed information aboutweUknown acts Uke Grayson and Whitter as weU as more regionaUy famous groups Uke Ephraim Woodie and the Henpecked Husbands . Though now over sixty years old, the recordings convey aU the excitement oftheir first pressing. Better known than many of the acts from the Ashe County area covered in MusicFrom the LostProvinces, CharUe Poole and die North CaroUna Ramblers had a lasting impact on stringband music. In a recording career lasting from 1925 to 1930, Poole blended tunes from Tin Pan Alley, vaudevüle, the cotton müls, and his Tar Heel home to craft a repertoire of songs about love, longing, poverty, marriage, and more than a few about what küled Poole at age 39: Uquor. This three-volume set, though not a complete survey ofPoole's recordings, nevertheless includes most of his famous and influential songs Uke the "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues." Unfortunately, the liner notes give only the briefest summary of Poole's career and importance. To contact OldHat, write to OldHatEnterprises, P.O. Box 10)09, Raleigh NC2760s orcall (919) 8ßj-j/46 92 southern cultures, Winter1999 : GavinJames CampbeU ...