Elizabeth LaPrelle
Album: Birds' Advice
Label: Old 97 Wrecords
Tracks: 17
Website: http://www.old97wrecords.com/elizabeth-laprelle

The disc's subtitle "old songs and ballads" will give you a fair and reasonable accurate idea of its contents, but that's not necessarily its whole story. But let me state right at the outset that this is a record that will give deep, unalloyed pleasure to the enthusiast of old-time traditional American folk (and any of its exponents - from Texas Gladden and Maybelle Carter through to Hedy West or Ginny Hawker, say). And yet even the most devoted old-timey aficionados might find their performer knowledge tested here, Elizabeth not exactly being a household name even in that field. Hailing from Cedar Springs in rural southwest Virginia, this effervescent young performer is totally steeped in her indigenous traditions. Her personal mission statement runs thus: "I like to sing the old mountain songs, and I try to sing them in the old style, with the same force and feeling that have held listeners for generations". And, hey, taking just one listen to the assured, lived-in nature of her delivery you'd almost be convinced she's been singing these songs for twice the actual span of her life (believe it, she's still only in her mid-20s!). She understands and appreciates these songs in all their aspects, and conveys their primal feel and sound as well as their measure. No less an authority than Sheila Kay Adams (one of Elizabeth's tutors) has paid fulsome tribute to her talent, describing her as "one of maybe a handful of young singers able to capture the rhythm, the intensity, the breaks and sighs, that make this style of singing authentic"; high praise indeed, and praise that, on the evidence of the Birds' Advice CD alone (incredibly, Elizabeth's third to date), I consider fully justified.

No fewer than half of the disc's selections are sung unaccompanied, six of them entirely solo by Elizabeth herself (the remaining two take the form of fabulous harmony duets with her mother Sandy). The most impressive of these is undoubtedly Mathey Groves, which furnishes the disc with its "head-kicker" quotient, closely followed by Elizabeth's intense, real-deal ballad-style account of The Cuckoo (inspired by hearing Doc Watson's reading on the radio) and a strong, telling rendition of Locks And Bolts where, influenced by the historic recording of Emma Shelton of North Carolina, Elizabeth clearly savours the fine phrases to the full. But Elizabeth's no less impressive on the tracks where she's accompanied instrumentally by various permutations of Amy Davis and Jon Newlin (of The Hushpuppies) (banjo/ fiddle and/or guitar respectively) and The Amazing Jim Lloyd of Rural Retreat (guitar/banjo/saw).

Her choice of non-traditional material is inspired too: the two Carter Family numbers are most fetchingly done, again featuring those fabulous mother-daughter harmonies - as is another of the disc's "forgotten treasures", Faded Coat Of Blue, which was sung by Betsy Rutherford on an LP belonging to her father (Bossman John LaPrelle). Other cherishable moments include a spirited version of John Henry very much inspired by that of Earl Johnson's Dixie Entertainers (right down to Amy gleefully replicating the triumphant vocal hollers on that source recording); and some almighty fun being had by all concerned on both the "official family version" of Bully Of The Town and the slightly silly bonus track Istanbul (aka The Four Lads' 50s hit Constantinople!), all of which provide further delectation.

If I've one minor criticism, it's that on this determinedly no-frills small-studio recording the vocals are perhaps too forward-miked for comfort (especially considering their intensity), and this aspect may initially take a little getting used to. But first and foremost this disc celebrates loud and clear the sheer unadulterated spirit of Elizabeth's vocal artistry, for she is known to admire the qualities of deceptive simplicity and seamless phrasing in song and unerringly transmits these to her performances. Upon hearing which, to paraphrase a time-honoured phrase from one of the songs on the disc, it's not only her bright smile that will haunt you still, well after the disc has left your player.

David Kidman