The Nephews: The Nephews

Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, Spring, 2008 by Tom Druckenmiller

The Nephews

The Nephews

The Nephews

Byron and Tim Joseph are double first cousins. If you don't know what that means (I didn't) Byron and Tim's fathers are brothers and their mothers are sisters. They hail from Michigan and they've been playing and singing brother duets for forty-seven years. Tim plays banjo and guitar and sings lead, Byron plays guitar and sings harmony.

I have to confess I approached this CD with some reservations but with the first track, the Carter Family's "Bear Creek Blues," all my suspicions were put aside. The guys can sing and play! Their harmony is brother-true and their playing is energetic. The following selection, "Ooh, Ooh, Didn't I Do," is a ragtime relative of "Waterbound" and their vocals have just the right amount of swagger. "Every Day in the Week Blues" from the singing of Pink Anderson and Simmie Dooley is characterized by a 1960s coffeehouse singer-songwriter arrangement that belies the song's origins.

"The Ballad of the Johnstown Flood" is a family tune passed to them from a great uncle who was a banjo player. It has additional significance as their mother's family came from the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. Charlie Poole's "Milwaukee Blues" benefits from fine ragtime guitar and rollicking vocals. Another classic, Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More," which has been recorded numerous times, is given a heartfelt and honest rendition on the CD.

There is a great deal to like about this recording and I imagine these are some of their favorite and most requested tunes from personal appearances (but do we really need another version of Pete's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" or Lead Belly's "How Long Blues?"). But just as I was ready to put this CD away after a first listen, up jumps "O1' Cell Phone," a reworking of the old traditional song "O1' Jawbone." It's a delightful way to end a lovely and heartfelt recording by The Nephews.--TD