The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, receives four stars from MusicOMH, which calls the album "a stunner in every sense." Following their performance at the 2010 Celtic Connections festival, The Scotsman reports: "From opening chord to closing note, this talented threesome had the audience in the palm of their hands. Impossible to pigeon hole, and equally impossible to dislike, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are first and foremost musicians" who "refuse to be tied to any one genre."
The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is already out in the UK, where MusicOMH gives it four stars, describing the album as "a daring blend (as American music should be) of Celtic folk, call-and-response, blues, gospel and ragtime." Rooted in tradition as it is, in the hands of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, it's music "respun for modernity, but—thankfully—not updated for the sake of style."
In addition to the traditional tunes made new, there are the contemporary tunes reimagined, like the band's rendition of Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style," which "turns an urban soul jam into a knockdown barnburner," and, reads the review, its take on Tom Waits's "Trampled Rose" "is nothing short of chilling."
Burgess concludes: "Genuine Negro Jig is a stunner in every sense."
Read the complete review at musicomh.com.
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As reported yesterday in the Nonesuch Journal, this week marks the start of several Nonesuch artists' participation in the 2010 Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland. While Natalie Merchant and The Low Anthem are set to perform tonight, the Carolina Chocolate Drops' Tuesday night performance in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall's Strathclyde Suite kicked things off with a rousing start to which the Scotland Herald gives four stars and the Scotsman gives a perfect five.
The Scotsman's Kelly Apter reports of "claps, stomps and whoops of appreciation from the crowd" from early on in the group's set. "From opening chord to closing note, this talented threesome had the audience in the palm of their hands. Impossible to pigeon hole, and equally impossible to dislike, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are first and foremost musicians" who "refuse to be tied to any one genre."
Apter recommends Genuine Negro Jig as "a CD well worth seeking out to tide you over until their next visit to these shores."
Read the full concert review at news.scotsman.com.
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"The excitement was palpable from the moment they took to the stage," agrees The Herald's Dave Prater. "And make no mistake, this lot are hot. Rarely has such fun been had listening to what can at best be described as obscure (although not difficult) music, as they single-handedly reclaimed the black string band and jug (yes, that would be a gin jug) tradition."
Prater goes on to describe it all as "exhilarating," concluding: "The standing ovation at the end was well deserved."
Read that review at heraldcotland.com.
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