Bruce Molsky
Poor Man's Trouble
Rounder

Bruce Molsky keeps pumping out albums and still has no trouble discovering rare tunes and interesting settings of the more commonplace. He has found a niche as one of the few professional old time musicians, a mighty feat!

There are more guitar solos, vocals and banjo pieces than recent albums, but, for me, the focus is still on his rhythmically inventive and driving fiddling. When he lays into a breakdown with his ax tuned to AEAE or AEAC#, the notes shimmer and cascade into a totality where the whole is a whole lot more than the individual tones.

There is accompaniment on about half the cuts, alternately by Paul Brown on banjo, wife Audrey on guitar, and fiddle duets with Darol Anger and Martin Hayes. "Poor Man's Trouble," "Jeff Sturgeon," "Lost Indian" and 17 others are outstanding.- Stacy Phillips