Par la magie du re-recording, Ivan Rosenberg nous gratifie d’une galette où il joue, avec une brillance et un équilibre inégalés, l’openback old time banjo et le dobro (guitare à système de résonateur). Quelques invités viennent délicatement enrober le tout avec une touche de mandoline, une ligne de basse et un soupçon de violon, ou devrais-je dire “fiddle”. Nous voici en présence d’un petit chef-d’œuvre de pièces originales plutôt bien tournées, sauf pour la chanson traditionnelle “Poor Ellen Smith”, délicieusement arrangée. Une musique qui avance sans à-coups, sans accélérations brusques. De la fraîcheur, oui, avec ces nouveaux morceaux, mais une chaleur de timbres à couper le souffle. Et en avant que les images défilent comme un paysage de chaque côté d’un hypothétique “highway” qui n’en finirait pas. Le swing est constant, la pulse sans pareil. Les tempos, longtemps éprouvés, sont parfaits, idéaux. Pour ce qui est de titres évocateurs : “Skunk Ate the Mothballs” (Le putois a mangé la naphtaline) ; “Pig Shack” (La cabane aux cochons) ; ou encore, tenez-vous bien, “Hamish’s Morphine Pill” (et là je vous laisse traduire).                                 

Translated: 

With the magic of multi-tracking, Ivan Rosenberg  pleases us with a "gallette" (a plain cake that's a vehicle for the chef's imagination) on which he plays  oldtime openback banjo and dobro (resonator guitar) with unequaled brilliance and poise.  A select few have been invited to help delicately drape the whole with a touch of mandolin, a bass line, a dash of violin or should I say fiddle.  We are in the presence of a beautifully rendered small masterpiece of original tunes and one traditional song, Poor Ellen Smith, which have been deliciously arranged.  This is music that unfolds without jarring bumps or sudden accelerations.  There is a freshness to these new pieces, yes, but also a warmth of sound that takes the breath away.  It evokes images that pass before the eyes like the landscape on each side of a hypothetical highway that will never end.  The swing is constant, the pulse is unparalleled.  The tempos are well tested, perfect, ideal.  The titles are strangely evocative: Skunk Ate the Mothballs, Pig Shack, or even, brace yourself Hamish's Morphine Pill.
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One of the best instrumental recordings I've heard this year is Ivan Rosenberg's Clawhammer and Dobro. Ivan is a banjo and resonator guitar player who writes simply irresistable tunes in that wide-open, almost-no-man's-land between contemporary bluegrass and old time, similar to Mark Johnson and Mark Schatz...

While I'm assuming that Ivan is mostly a dobro player, his clawhammer playing and the tunes he writes for clawhammer will inspire and delight those who are interested in where clawhammer will be going next. If that sounds like you, get this cd.
--Donald Nitchie, Banjo Newsletter Dec. 2006
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Playing Time – 37:16 -- It’s a fact that many musicians learn another instrument before learning resonator guitar. In Ivan Rosenberg’s case, I presume that he might have mastered guitar or banjo back in Missouri before transferring some of his musical skills to the Dobro. Now, the Bellingham, Wa. resident plays his original tunes with the same kind of stirring soul and emotion that they’d be sung if they had been composed with lyrics. While some of his tunes evoke vivacious spirit into your dancin’ shoes, Ivan seems particularly adept at mood creation. Some of his tunes produce a vocal-like atmosphere, while others seem to forge a soulful interplay of instruments. Take, for instance, his banjo and Dobro harmony on the opening cut. We could’ve used some more of that sweet harmony here and there, like perhaps in “Skunk Ate the Mothballs” or in “Rope-a-Dope” where we’re only given a very minute taste of harmony in the tune’s ending.  

When reviewing a resonator guitar project, I particularly listen for good intonation control (getting all the notes just right on pitch with your left hand). That’s got to take a lot of practice and skill, and Ivan’s well-rehearsed success is most apparent when he is challenged with fast-moving slides in the second track, “Quackalactic Breakdown,” and truckin’ break on “Rope-a-Dope.” For a  change-up at track five, Ivan and co. sing one number, a different kind of futuristic rendition of “Poor Ellen Smith.” At least 180-degrees from Jimmy Martin’s version, Ivan’s rendition of the North Carolina murder ballad incorporates considerable discretion with lyrics and melody as he sings “Nobody knows how I love Ellen, nobody knows.” While his story line lacks all the details of the original lyrics, Ivan’s tale hits the basic essentials of Ellen being shot, her body carried away, and the warden freeing the prisoner. The boy’s clearly cut his teeth on traditional music at some point in his career before embarking on his innovative route of originality. 

Clawhammer banjo and Dobro are very complementary instruments that work well together in the hands of a proficient player like Ivan who has an extensive discography (as both soloist and session musician), along with many TV and film credits. Mood-master Rosenberg also primarily calls on splendid acousticians Mason Tuttle (guitar, bass, mandolin) and David Keenan (National resophonic guitar). Chad Manning adds his fiddle wizardry to one cut, “Big Arm Montana,” and Mary Lucey’s eerie harmony is only heard on the one haunting vocal number. Jon Stickley’s mandolin only appears in the mix of “Big Arm Montana” and “Pig Shack.” Thus, arrangements are very clean with just enough instrumentation to make for clarion sound. Tuttle’s lead guitar break (and solid bass foundation) on “The Creptid Mule” are noteworthy. The album, recorded at Indidog Studio in North Carolina, gets full-bodied tonal contributions from the instruments. The set canters along with moderately-tempo’ed pieces, and perhaps a little more variety in tempo (along with a “chad” more fiddle) would have taken us through a few more up’s and down’s along the 37-minute buoyant journey. “Terrapenne” may be only a minute and a half, but the slower solo piece provides an opportunity for the set to breathe and blossom. This album would be a perfect listen while cruising along the Blue Ridge Parkway on some other scenic backcounty byway on a beautiful spring day. The vernal nature of this album is its very strength. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
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Ivan Rosenberg is an accomplished master of resophonic guitar and clawhammer banjo and while the two instruments are seldom paired together, he’s managed to marry the sounds of the two into a happy and fruitful union. Ivan’s banjo playing has a strong melodic flavor and his resophonic guitar happily bends and turns and fills the musical pools with sustained melodies. Mason Tuttle’s guitar and mandolin add rhythms and contrasts to many of the songs. The songs range from fast-paced, bluegrass inspired tunes to melodic minor key excursions like the “The Creptid Mule.” “Pig Shack” has a call and response response melody with the dobro and mandolin that has all the energy of a pile of pigs jockeying for top porker. Even without Ivan’s colorful titles, the wonderful blends of the instruments have a fun flavor that makes the songs good listening and a great stress reliever at the end of a long day.
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