Leaving Eden

by The Carolina Chocolate Drops

Overview

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, a contemporary string band trio who, under the watchful eye of mentor Joe Thompson, re-created the look, feel, and sound of a 19th century black North Carolina string, fiddle, and jug band ensemble, crafted their first studio recordings into perfect facsimiles of the group's influences. The Drops were always at their best on-stage, however, where the gospel stomp of those mountain rhythms and the kinetic energy the band gave off completed the feel of a living, breathing history lesson. Those old string bands could turn on a dime, and the Chocolate Drops reproduced that art, turning their live sets into a black string band revival show. The studio albums felt like they were a bit encased in glass compared to the live performances. For this outing, however, the Chocolate Drops found the perfect producer in Buddy Miller, who recorded the band live in a single room, and the result is a wonderfully immediate album that feels like a Saturday night house party-- complete with moonlight, dust flying from the carpet under the feet of dancers, and crickets and night bird calls out the open windows. The sound breathes, and the Drops shine. Traditional pieces like "Po' Black Sheep" become stomping revivals, born again in a new century. "Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?" becomes a clawhammer banjo-driven mountain blues, with Rhiannon Giddens' vocal making it seem like Janis Joplin just wandered into the party, a feat she repeats with the album's marvelous last track, "Pretty Bird" (complete with crickets in the background). The Carolina Chocolate Drops may be intent on reproducing a sound from over a century ago, but they do an amazing job of translating it into the 21st century without diminishing it. This set feels like a Saturday night throwdown under the summer stars. It almost seems timeless, perhaps because it defies time. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/20/2012
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597962536

Tracks

1. Riro's House
2. Kerr's Negro Jig
3. Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?
4. Boodle-De-Bum-Bum
5. Country Girl
6. Run Mountain
7. Leaving Eden
8. Read 'Em John
9. Mahalla
10. West End Blues
11. Po' Black Sheep
12. I Truly Understand That You Love Another Man
13. No Man's Mama
14. Briggs' Corn Shucking Jig / Camptown Hornpipe
15. Pretty Bird

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Carolina Chocolate Drops   Primary Artist
Dom Flemons   Jug,Banjo,Guitar,Quills,Vocals,Drums (Bass),Drums (Snare),4-String Banjo
Rhiannon Giddens   Banjo,Cello,Fiddle,Vocals,Vocal Harmony,5-string Banjo,Vocals (Background)
Adam Matta   Vocals,Beat Box,Tambourine,Bass (Vocal),Vocals (Background)
Hubby Jenkins   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin,5-string Banjo,Vocals (Background)
Leyla McCalla   Cello,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Traditional   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Chris Colbourn   Booking
Jack Yellen   Composer
Ben Curry   Composer
Etta Baker   Composer
Jason Mizell   Composer
Dom Flemons   Arranger,Composer
Rhiannon Giddens   Arranger,Composer
Buddy Miller   Producer
Hazel Dickens   Composer
J.E. Mainer   Composer
Cousin Emmy   Composer
Mike Poole   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Lew Pollack   Composer
Timothy Duffy   Management,Photography
Laurelyn Dossett   Composer
Bill Steber   Photography
Adam Matta   Arranger,Composer
Al Quattrocchi   Package Design
Gordon Hammond   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
David Bither   Executive Producer
Jeff Smith   Package Design
Dolphus Ramseur   Management
Lalenja Harrington   Composer
Hannes Coetzee   Composer
Hubby Jenkins   Arranger
George Roarke   Composer
Robert C. Ludwig   Mastering