Black Twigs' New CD
April 28, 2005 | Black Twig Pickers
Midnight has Come and Gone is the third CD by this Southwest Virginia group, and is another set of classic old time, country blues, and Appalachian folk. Since 2003's Soon One Morning, the Black Twig trio of Mike Gangloff, Ralph Berrier, and Isak Howell has expanded to a quartet with the addition of bassist Mike Gayheart. Midnight Has Come and Gone is made up of mostly of original material, road tested at gigs and festivals along the Blue Ridge. Topical stormers like "Fire in the Stove" and "Blood Red Clay" are live staples, belted out here in a virtuoso hail of guitar, fiddle, banjo, and rough harmony. In contrast to the more trad sounding fare, the grungy and twisting "Bent Mountain Drag" recalls "Beggar's" era-Rolling Stones. Continuing the Black Twig tradition of beautiful instrumentals, "Twilight on the Radford Army Ammunition Plant" is another hymn-like meditation outside the showy-offy bluegrass tradition. "Original Natural Bridge Blues" is a song from 1941, which has been recorded in an incomplete fashion by many groups over the years. Ralph's discovery of the original 1940's sheet music in a family photo album (detailed in the liner notes) revealed a lost verse, presented here for the first time.