Holy Modal Rounders
Too Much Fun
Rounder (www.rounder.com)

The world's a better place for having the Holy Modal Rounders alive and well. Decades hence, collectors will still be playing their irreverent, iconoclastic and oh-so-true interpretations of America's vernacular music. Peter Stampfel's reefer-inspired vocals lead the way on "Happy Rolling Cowboy" for the first of 17 romps among the folklore catalog. Too Much Fun is as apt a description of The Rounders as you'll find and ain't it something that "Euphoria" has been around long enough that one can easily consider it a classic. I just can't help enjoying the Rounders' take on "Year of Jubilo," "Precious Jewel," "New John the Revelator" and "Bonaparte's Retreat." Let's hope a new generation discovers these boys and finds eternal smiles plastered upon their faces. - Richard Dorsett