Unjugged

The Jim Kweskin Jug Band formed in 1963 and quickly leapt to the forefront of the US folk revival. In 1969, at the height of his fame, band leader Jim Kweskin decided to break the jug and retreated to a quieter life. Now, London's Hornbeam Records (home to the late Tom Paley, Bonnie Dobson and Spider John Koerner) has welcomed Kweskin on board. And Unjugged is exceptional by both Hornbeam and Kweskin's high standards. Entirely acoustic – Kweskin plays banjo and guitar while Ben Paley fiddles alongside double bass and harmonica – it is a warm, engaging and very entertaining journey through American folk music. On stunning opener, ‘Days of ‘49’, Kweskin's voice and banjo provide a dark narrative from the desperate days of the Gold Rush. He then revives old songs about trainwrecks, the comic English spook song ‘With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm’, a Mississippi blues, a Rudy Vallee ballad and Donovan's ‘Colours’ (in a superb duet with Bonnie Dobson). Throughout, Kweskin is in fine form, an engaging narrator. As is always the case with Hornbeam, the music is exceptionally well recorded and beautifully packaged. Unjugged is a diamond.