Fat Man & Little Boy’s new album The Atomic Duo has been in my CD stack for a while now; I enjoyed listening to it on a Thanksgiving trip, so that tells you. I wanted to share it with you in case you had not already read a review of it elsewhere. Although this is technically their first album together, I hesitate to call it a debut album because these two are not new to the music business.

Fat Man & Little Boy, in this case, are musicians rather than bombs, but you notice by the CD title that they took advantage of the pun. Their real names are Mark Rubin and Silas Lowe. Rubin was a founding member of Bad Livers, and Lowe has been a member of several bands including the college group Northern Aggression. Lowe plays the resonator mandolin and the melody banjo; Rubin plays the resonator guitar and the fiddle. Both of them provide vocals, separately and together, for the tracks that have them. George Carver, the album producer, joins them playing the harmonica and bass harmonica.

These are a couple of guys goofing off in front of a mike, and at the same time a lot of fun to listen to. They know their instruments and they know the old music they’re playing, well enough to occasionally interject their own words for an updated take. The first tune on the CD is a merry ragtime number called “Easy Winner.” Going down the track list (not, by the way, in the same order as listed on the cover), they have a great time bringing out one old song after another and giving it their own sound. Even with depressing material such as “Rope Stretchin’ Blues,” this is an enjoyable selection of ragtime, blues and swing. ”Turpentine Farm” is one of the funnier numbers. The group pulls out the country sound, twangy slides and all, on the love-story-gone-wrong song “The Memory of Your Smile” and on the country gospel tune “Mother’s Not Dead.” Although the songs are labeled “traditional,” another review names some of the sources, or at least the original known performers.

Several live radio recordings are available on Archive.org and videos of more radio station performances are available on ReverbNation. More on how the duo and the album came about, and Rubin’s thoughts on the cultural legacy of music, are found in an interview on the Americana archive site SPPS.

In case you haven’t already seen it, there is a series in progress over at the Open Salon site about Bob Dylan and the musicians who influenced him. Three posts so far, all thought-provoking for anyone interested in early folk music and blues. The author plans to take this through ten posts in all over a period of several months. If you start with the introductory post it contains links to the others.

Todd B. loves his ukulele. Or make that ukuleles. He has gone so far as to write a song about his collection, which you can see in this video. Todd, an enterprising musical moonlighter nicknamed “Brother Sonny” who does not disclose his last name on his web site, has written several original contemporary folk songs and has performed the work of various folk artists including Burl Ives and Bascom Lamar Lunsford.

I’m always looking for new music and for time to write about it, and sometimes I have to be reminded to look in my own backyard. I became aware of a recent performance by a fairly new local group called Seryn, and once I listened to some of the concert online I wanted to share it with you.

The nominees for the 2010 Grammy Awards were announced Wednesday evening. One of the nominees for Best Traditional Folk Album is Cutting Loose, by David Holt and Josh Goforth. This compilation of comedy and music is a treat to listen to, with a surprise around every corner.

When you listen to Walt Cronin, don’t expect fancy language or complicated musical structure. Listen to the words, though, because simple words can carry a great impact. On his recent solo release, The Gousters, Walt sings of love, war and everyday things, and brings you into the experience. These are songs from the heart — the essence of true folk music. Of a war widow: “It’s the hurt that’s in us all, as we watch those young men fall….” (Flowers in Her Hand). Of a veteran’s life: “…I was a soldier, led to the places that left me bereaved….Came home a stranger….” (The Rift). Of a homeless girl: “How can this be, in the land of the free….no one is listening…” (She’s On Her Own).

I don’t know whether she will eventually choose to settle (or be channeled) into a particular style, but right now Thailand-born Burmese singer/songwriter Mary Win is exploring a wide range of sounds from folk to rock to pop. Her lyrics are often dark but her songs are definitely worth a listen. “Snowdrifts” is an example of a song that is more in the folk music pattern. “Suddenly”  is a song she presented last year in honor of human rights efforts in her parents’ native country of Burma.

Mary makes her home in the Seattle area. Her upcoming shows include a performance on Sunday, July 19th at the Strawberry Festival on Vashon Island.

Former Nickel Creek member Sara Watkins has a self-titled CD coming out April 7. The album is produced by John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin) and contains material written by Sara, songs written by some of her friends and  songs by other artists whose work she has long admired. The sound is an intriguing combination of folk and pop with a touch of folk blues, as when she covers John Hartford’s “Long Hot Summer Days.” Song samples are available on Sara’s MySpace page.

After her crowd-winning performance at the South by Southwest Music Conference last week, singer/songwriter Caroline Herring is headed to Savannah, Georgia for her April 2 concert during the Savannah Music Festival. Caroline’s “Southern Gothic” folk music writings capture the imagination, and her voice is wonderfully easy to listen to. The video on the Savannah site is a great introduction to this singer’s work.

One of my favorite CDs purchased in the last year is Epiphany Project’s Hin Dagh, a collection of original songs and adapted prayers in various languages including Armenian, Swahili, Aramaic and ancient Welsh. Epiphany Project is the duo John Hodian and Bet Williams. Bet’s full voice and four-octave range and John’s piano compositions make a stunning combination. Add to that a healthy mix of world folk instruments and the album is a feast for the ears. Hin Dagh is their third CD, and the first one to have this range of languages; Bet and John have also recorded separately.

If you live in the Boston area and you haven’t seen Epiphany Project in concert, you will have your chance Saturday night. The time is 8:00 pm and the place is the Amazing Things Art Center in Framingham. Most of their material will be in English, from their previous recordings, but some of the material from Hin Dagh will also be presented. Anyone who attends is in for a musical treat.

The group’s next U.S. appearance, before they go on to tour Europe, is at the Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, 8:30 pm Friday March 27.

I came across this CD while looking for new folk music on Amazon, and I was hitting the “add to cart” button almost before I knew it. Alela has a hauntingly beautiful voice and her own folk style. This is her second label release, the first being The Pirate’s Gospel. Yes, I ordered that one too!

http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/releases/To-Be-Still/

http://www.aleladiane.com/about.html

http://www.myspace.com/alelamusic

http://www.last.fm/music/Alela+Diane

Tom Rush has released his first album in years. What I Know is a mixture of original music, traditional pieces such as “Casey Jones,” and covers. Guest vocalists include Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Bramlett and Nanci Griffith. Tom may not have recorded in a while, but he certainly hasn’t lost his touch. The album has 15 tracks; I think “River Song” is my favorite so far.

http://www.tomrush.com