Eric Brace and Karl Straub
Album: Hangtown Dancehall
Label: Red Beet
Tracks: 22
Website: http://hangtowndancehall.com/

"Hangtown Dancehall", a tale of the California Gold Rush, is that rare commodity, a Country Concept album or, if you prefer, a Grand Old Folk Opera. And it's superb.

The gentlemen responsible for this magnum opus are Eric Brace and Karl Straub. Eric will be familiar to UK readers as half of a great duo with Peter Cooper.Eric is also front man for acclaimed roots-rock band Last Train Home and also runs Red Beet Records. Karl is probably not as well-known on these shores but is a D.C. area songwriter whose songs have been covered by numerous artists including the aforesaid Last Train Home and The Kennedys. Pete Kennedy describes Karl as "the area's best songwriter".

Apart from one tune [which appears twice], Eric and Karl wrote all of the music [and lyrics] on this impressive piece of work.The tune that they didn't write actually inspired the whole album. "Sweet Betsy From Pike" was written in the 1850's by one John Stone and it tells the tale of a young couple called Betsy and Ike who travel 2,000 miles across America by wagon train, from Pike County,Missouri, to join in the California Gold Rush. The song ends at a point where the couple separate in a dancehall in Hangtown [also known as Placerville, California, where, incidentally Eric was born]. Eric and Karl decided to continue the story, which they do, to great effect on this album.

In order to tell the story, Eric and Karl assembled a superb group of singers and musicians, with each singer taking on the persona of a character in the story. Thus, Eric becomes Ike, Betsy is played by Kelly Willis, Karl takes the role of Ike's prospecting partner Walter Brown, Tim O'Brien is bandleader Jeremiah Jenkins, Darrell Scott is James Marshall, bitter Englishman Augustus Pyle is played by Wesley Stace, Jason Ringenberg [of Jason and the Scorchers fame] is excellent as the slippery Preacher Magee and Betsy's Chinese friend Mei Lin is portrayed by Andrea Zonn. The fabulous line-up of musicians includes such luminaries as Mike Auldridge [dobro], Fats Kaplin [violin,pedal steel and mandolin], Pat McInerney [drums] and Buddy Spicher [violin] amongst others.

The resulting album is a shining example of how to tell a story in music and song, without it sounding forced or contrived. Eric and Karl tell the story but, in doing so, do not compromise the music and, as a result, each song stands on its own merits. As the album is such a cohesive work, I am somewhat loathe to pick out individual tracks but these are some of my personal highlights.

Firstly, I particularly enjoyed Karl's country shuffle "Afternoon's Gone Blind". Secondly, I loved Eric's extremely moving "From Pearl River to Gold Mountain"which is beautifully sung by Andrea Zonn, and which recounts the tale of Mei Lin,a victim of human trafficking who was taken from China to California. This features some superbly empathetic dobro playing from that master of the instrument Mike Auldridge. I also particularly liked the jazzy, danceband number "Smile and a Little Skin" in which Kelly Willis describes the life of a dancer with a travelling band with great aplomb.

I could pick out many more musical highlights on this album but would suggest that you hear it for yourself.

I would add that, not only is "Hangtown Dancehall" an aural delight, it is a visual one as well. It is packaged in a large-size cd sleeve which holds a 24-page booklet which contains excellent artwork by Julie Sola, as well as all of the lyrics and the full story of Betsy and Ike.The quality of the music is reflected in the obvious care which has gone into the presentation of the album. Great work.

Peter Cowley