Although his official residence is in Florida, country-blues troubadour Roy Book Binder practically lives on the road, driving his camper to gigs at coffeehouses, small clubs, and blues festivals. These songs were recorded at Fur Peace Ranch, the Ohio guitar camp run by fellow blues picker Jorma Kaukonen. Aside from his accomplished fingerpicking, Book Binder is known for his dry wit and hilarious monologues, often about his adventures as blues great Reverend Gary Davis? driver in the late 1960s. The stories are rehearsed and finely tuned, but they come off as spontaneous yarns (one about the folk song ?Delia? is particularly droll), and they perfectly complement his songs?a mixture of originals, classics, and obscurities. Book Binder wrenches a meaty tone from his vintage small-bodied Gibsons, and his ?hillbilly blues? style?based on the playing of Davis, Pink Anderson, Merle Travis, and others?is as recognizable as that of any performer on the acoustic blues scene. Especially affecting here is his original ?Full Go Around,? a tribute to several bluesmen who died in recent years, including Dave Van Ronk and John Jackson. (Peg Leg, www.roybookbinder.com)
- Ian Zack (Acoustic Guitar)
“At last, a live Roy Book Binder album. Book Binder is a good singer and player, but his greatest strength is as a performer and raconteur, using his music to frame his stories and the stories to give background to the music.”
