It's a rare album I find that rocks me as much as this one. I play most of the instruments that Tom White plays on this album plus a few others, in a young band that plays some similar music to collect donations for a local land trust, so I can appreciate the skill he has with each as well as the polished performances of the duo. It is apparent that they have been playing music together for a long time because the arrangements are tight and interesting without getting too fancy. In some medleys they replay the starting tune and those that follow as the ending of the series, and they have selected compatible tunes for these medleys. Some are played at lightspeed yet each note remains clean and distinct, in part no doubt thanks to the simplicity of duets. (Do I hear a second fiddle or other instrumental part on some tracks, added in afterward?) I've only listened to the album perhaps six times, but have never been so enthusiastic about one so early in the relationship. Further, I've never found an album containing so many songs on one disk that my band is likely to add to its repertoire. That songs with historical, regional, and cultural value are collected and preserved herein adds another special layer of significance to this fine set and talented duo. I'm looking forward to hearing other work by them, and am pleased to see that they play locally a lot at better venues, as a team and individually. Rich Bala also appears to do some storytelling, certainly mining the rich oral histories of the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas.

It's a rare album I find that rocks me as much as this one. I play most of the instruments that Tom White plays on this album plus a few others, in a young band that plays some similar music to collect donations for a local land trust, so I can appreciate the skill he has with each as well as the polished performances of the duo. It is apparent that they have been playing music together for a long time because the arrangements are tight and interesting without getting too fancy. In some medleys they replay the starting tune and those that follow as the ending of the series, and they have selected compatible tunes for these medleys. Some are played at lightspeed yet each note remains clean and distinct, in part no doubt thanks to the simplicity of duets. (Do I hear a second fiddle or other instrumental part on some tracks, added in afterward?) I've only listened to the album perhaps six times, but have never been so enthusiastic about one so early in the relationship. Further, I've never found an album containing so many songs on one disk that my band is likely to add to its repertoire. That songs with historical, regional, and cultural value are collected and preserved herein adds another special layer of significance to this fine set and talented duo. I'm looking forward to hearing other work by them, and am pleased to see that they play locally a lot at better venues, as a team and individually. Rich Bala also appears to do some storytelling, certainly mining the rich oral histories of the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas.

Traditional folk songs and ballads, with instrumental medleys and square dance tunes on guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, concertina, and both mountain & hammered dulcimers.