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Danny Barnes & Thee Old Codgers
THINGS I DONE WRONG
(TERMINUS)

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Packed with stories of mayhem and personal disaster, this disc from former Bad Livers frontman Danny Barnes’s new outfit is a trek through the musical legacy of the Southern mountains and the mythology of trailer-trash America. At times Thee Old Codgers’ blend of bluegrass and punk-rock attitude is sweet. "Hey Baby I’m Falling" is an outright love song, with Barnes’s prettiest high-and-lonesome vocal melody. But gunshots, Satan, and solitude are more this trio’s stock in trade. And madness is present not only in the lyrics but also in Barnes’s delivery, in tics like the zigzagging vocal phrasing of "Delilah." What’s hip is that banjoist/singer Barnes and his Codgers (Jon Parry on violin and Keith Lowe on bass) have the authentic chops to play a bluegrass festival, even if they’d rather hang with the bohemians. Another bonus is the sophisticated harmonic interplay of the arrangements, especially those among Parry, Lowe, and guest guitarist Bill Frisell on two numbers. But that’s a trademark of Wayne Horvitz, the fugitive from the late-’80/early-’90s downtown Manhattan music scene who produced the album. A recent set at Johnny D’s found the band playing things closer to their straight bluegrass roots: they were tamer than the rip-roaring Bad Livers but no less engaging.

BY TED DROZDOWSKI

Issue Date: April 25 - May 2, 2002
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