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***Midnight has Come and Gone, the third CD by this Southwest Virginia group, is another set of classic bluegrass, country blues, and Appalachian folk. Since 200's Soon One Morning, The Black Twigs (also known as the Black Twig Pickers, the trio of Mike Gangloff, Ralph Berrier, and Isak Howell) have expanded to a quartet with the addition of bassist Mike Gayheart. Midnight Has Come and Gone is made up of mostly of original material, roadtested at gigs and festivals along the Blue Ridge. Topical stormers like "Fire in the Stove" and "Blood Red Clay" are live staples, belted out here in a virtuoso hail of guitar, fiddle, banjo, and rough harmony. In contrast to the more trad-sounding fare, the grungy and twisting "Bent Mountain Drag" recalls Begga's Banquet-era Rolling Stones. Continuing the Black Twig tradition of beautiful instrumentals, "Twilight on the Radford Army Ammunition Plant" is another hymn-like meditation outside the showy-offy bluegrass tradition. "Original Natural Bridge Blues" is a song from 1941, which has been recorded in an incomplete fashion by many groups over the years. Berrier's discovery of the original 1940s sheet music in a family photo album (detailed in the liner notes) revealed a lost verse, presented here for the first time. |
