Whaddya mean you don't know the South Georgia Highballers

Hard-hollerin' old-timey fiddler and noted 78 rpm record collector Frank Fairfield curates another reissue culled from his vast shellac stockpile (and those of his wax hound buddies), this time avoiding the more popular artists and titles  of the era to focus on the rarer wrinkles in the fabric of Anglo-American vernacular music. That means you'll hear unusual performers, uncommon instrumentation and hotshot pickers from small towns across the States like Willard Hodgin who offers some sage advice in "Don't Get One Woman On Your Mind," Blind Joe Mangrum & Fred Shriver's ode to home cooking "Bacon & Cabbage," Mustard & Gravy's revelatory "The Whale Did, I Know He Did," The Tweedy Brothers' high steppin' "Chicken Reel."and the Ernest Rogers head-scratcher "Mythological Blues" among other uncomped faves you won't come across anywhere else.

Forget that "Americana" baloney, Turn Me Loose spotlights Anglo-American down-home music as it actually was and in many cases still is – albeit largely overlooked. With painstaking audio restoration by Michael Kieffer (of Origin Jazz Library notoriety), Turn Me Loose is Frank's impressive follow-up to his prior set of oddball 78s issued by Tompkins Square back in 2010 called Unheard Ofs & Forgotten Abouts, specifically concerning the recording of vernacular music from around the world. Taken together, they offer an intriguing alternate perspective of the music made during the so-called "Gramophone era." But enough about that, the real stars of Turn Me Loose are the singers and players you've never heard. Check out those South Georgia Highballers who gave this fine collection its title.

Mister Johnson Turn Me Aloose by The South Georgia Highballers