Secret Sisters - Big River / Wabash Cannonball

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Clinton on Fri 03 Sep, 2010.

Jack White certainly knows how to choose the ladies. Following on from the Smoke Fairies we now have a 7" by two voluptuous beauties, The Secret Sisters. Given the choice I'd probably pick the fatter one. Anyway at risk of being labelled sexist (no, no come back... I think its great that ladies can play music as well as men) I'd probably prefer to talk about the sleeve than the music and that's despite it being pretty good. Its a typical Jack White production, all hands to the pump bombast, a rollin' rollickin' interpretation of a Johnny Cash standard that both breathes new life into it and references the past. The B side is like an update of the Carter Family, with sweet 30's harmonies, banjos, trombones , the whole kitchen sink. A whole feast of fun. We may mock Jack White and his constant presence on these releases but ach at least he's bothering...he could be sat in a big mansion counting his money and driving big cars into swimming pools.

Laura and Lydia Rogers were born and raised in a musical family (their grandfather and great uncles had a group called The Happy Valley Boys ) and they absorbed their distinctive vocal style the old fashioned way, from singing at family picnics and Sunday church services. There s a timeless sound in their voices. You can hear the history of rural American music from the 1920 s and a reverence for every musical genre America has produced. Their voices are honest, direct, traditional, and needless to say beautiful. Here, Jack White turns his production hand to their debut 45, featuring two songs that more than adeptly show of the girls versatility and familial sense of musical tradition by connecting the dots between Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, riverboat songs, train songs and the long tradition of gathering round the piano in the family palour to belt out some traditional hyms. Not to mention once again re-defining the perimeters of what folk music is all about. The A side, a cover of Johnny Cash s Big River, has all the bombast and swagger of a late night Saturday jam session in an old deserted barn. The vocals of the sisters Rogers are a firm lynchpin in the center holding the band to the ground as they threaten to float into abandon.The flip is their take on the traditional folk song The Wabash Cannonball, popularized by The Carter Family. Musically and vocally we re in 1930 s Big Band territory here, all banjo trombones and trumpets with the girls coming off like The Andrew s Sisters southern gothic cousins.

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!