Solid songwriting on top of mountain narrative, allowing enough room for the listener to roam and meander along at the pace of chicken-pickin’ banjo goodness gives way to soul-selling delta blues mystery.
Pretenders take note. This is the real deal. Somehow Raitiere still manages to avoid the pitfall of pretension. All I’ll say is anyone who writes a song with a lyric like, “If she’s got an apple, she’s got a bannaner,†doesn’t have the problem of taking himself too seriously.
As a whole, this is how bluegrass (newgrass?) ought to be done. Raitiere is that “high lonesome sound†with a mouth full of barbecue.
Murfreesboro Pulse - Aaron Raitiere
(May 28, 2009)