Wow. Just, wow. That was my first reaction to this amazing new self-titled record by American songsters Anna & Elizabeth. You just don’t hear this kind of singing much anymore, outside of Appalachia, and it is a joy to find such skill and empathy employed in the presentation of these old songs by these young musicians.
Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle have studied at the feet of the masters of Appalachian music and they do it right, in the old style, their vocals unadorned and straightforward. Elizabeth plays claw-hammer banjo and sings lead on most of these songs in her durable alto, and Anna plays guitar, fiddle or banjo and sings in a lighter, higher voice that’s a perfect complement.
The album is 16 tracks, almost entirely very old songs. Some you’ll find on old recordings, like the chilling “Little Black Train” done by The Carter Family, Dock Boggs and others; or Uncle Dave Macon’s bawdy gospel “Lovin’ Babe,” of the Stanley Brothers’ “Voice From On High.” There’s at least one, “Orfeo,” that’s found in various versions in the Child Ballads. This one is really chilling, accompanied only by the drone of Joe Abart’s uilleann pipes. I’m pretty sure you’ll find bits of the death ballad they present as “Greenwood Sidey” in the Child collections too – on this one they are accompanied only by a guitar playing single note on the guitar with every beat, and they almost chant the song, sounding like sisters hiding while they scare themselves silly with it.
One of their mentors, Alice Gerrard, accompanies them on a few songs including “Don’t Want To Die In The Storm” and the Stanley Brothers’ “Voice From On High.” Gerrard’s durable, weathered voice presents a lovely complement to Anna & Elizabeth’s fresher instruments on these great, great three-part harmonies.
The only slightly modern song is also one of my favorites, the lightly jazzy “Father Neptune” attributed to Connie Converse, about marrying a man whose heart is owned by some other pursuit, be it sailing the sea or painting on canvas. My other favorite is a Frank Proffitt song called “Goin’ Across The Mountain.” It’s about the men who went off to fight in the Civil War, but really it applies to any soldier separated from loved ones. It’s illustrated in the CD booklet by a photo of Anna’s grandfather on the beach in France on D-Day.
The musicians have given a few notes about each of the songs, their provenance and what they mean to the singers, and some photographs they’ve taken or been given. It enhances the already personal feel of the whole project.
“We aren’t trying to transport people to the past– rather we are trying to bring the past back into the room, bring history into our understanding of the present,” Anna says. I’d say they’ve succeeded.
You can find examples of Anna & Elizabeth singing these old songs online. But I can’t resist this one of just Elizabeth, who is co-host of the monthly Floyd Radio Show, performing the Hank Cochran classic “I Fall to Pieces” for the audience of the monthly Internet-based broadcast from the Floyd County Store in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
And do go and watch this duo’s “Tiny Desk Concert” on NPR, on which they demonstrate the old-time “crankie,” an early foray into multi-media storytelling.
(Free Dirt, 2015)
