The Song of the Banjo

After a six-year hiatus, the banjo-picker, composer, Harvard graduate, former investment banker and record-label founder Alison Brown has released The Song of the Banjo. At nearly an hour long, the 13-track album shows Brown's endeavours to illuminate ‘the lyrical side of the banjo, which is the side I’m drawn to.’ Selections include familiar covers, such as Cyndi Lauper's ‘Time After Time’. A gold-star roster of guests join Brown for the session, including fellow banjo guru Béla Fleck, Indigo Girls, Colin Hay, and ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro. A bonus track features the acoustic blues guitarist Keb’ Mo’ singing Marvin Gaye's ‘What's Going On?’.

The performances are slickly composed, performed, mixed and mastered – so much so that, unfortunately, almost every ounce of spontaneous charm, shimmy-shaking soul and crossover magic is removed from the material. Rife with cheesy piano and organ accompaniment and tranquil arrangements recalling a cruise-ship lounge band, The Song of the Banjo might have seemed like a good idea during pre-production meetings, but it has ended up sounding like a late-night commercial for K-Tel's Greatest Banjo Hits.