Lafarge, Pokey / Something In The Water
Album: Something In The Water   Collection:General
Artist:Lafarge, Pokey   Added:May 2015
Label:Rounder Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2015-05-01 Pull Date: 2015-07-03
Week Ending: Jul 5 Jun 28 Jun 21 Jun 14 Jun 7 May 31 May 24 May 17
Airplays: 1 2 3 1 2 2 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Mar 18, 2023: Hanging In The Boneyard
Something In The Water
4. Apr 14, 2016: Feng Shui
The Spark
2. Feb 11, 2023: Everything
When Did You Leave Heaven
5. Jul 28, 2015: Mix Tape: That's Not Not Bluegrass
Knockin' The Dust Off The Rust Belt Tonight
3. Aug 05, 2017: Buford J. Sharkley Presents: As Told to Hervey Okkles
Cairo, Illinois
6. Jul 02, 2015: Tetragonal Banana
Knockin' The Dust Off The Rust Belt Tonight

Album Review
Wallace Brontoon
Reviewed 2015-05-01
How is Pokey LaFarge possible? A modern-day Leon Redbone, insofar as he incorporates the whole of early 20th century popular music into a modernized (but still out-of-time) approach. Pokey LaFarge, of St Louis, seems an impossible character-- riverboat hustler, yodeling hillbilly, yelping hustler, and more. Early (rough-edged, crazy) jazz, ragtime, Western Swing, boogie-woogie-- all these musics combined together in a beautiful stew, presided with the piercing, precise, fluent welp of Pokey's vocals.

FCC clean. Play anything (with exception of #5, which lacks the nostalgic mastery of the others).

1 (3:23) ****** Atmospheric, spooky tin-pan alley, with shades of Stephen Foster-- minstrel-y bg harmonic group. Slick guitar solo-- a really special song.
2 (2:48) ***** Wonderfully pinched '20s cornet, lovely spirited novelty blues with barrelhouse piano, sweeping boasting vox. Wonderful unhinged saloon music.
3 (3:27) **** Heavy tribal drums, banjo and brass group-- sounds deeply like the '20s "race music" as done by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Fun track.
4 (3:43) ***** Puts to mind the sessions Elvis did late at night, just him with his guitar and the Jordanaires-- wonderful expression in the slick (yes, Elvis-y) vocals, and the spareness of the arrangement is lovely, lovely.
5 (3:59) Straight-ahead folk-country (a la Old Crow Medicine Show); less loopy and original than the rest of the album (and a bit overproduced and treacly).
6 (3:22) **** Bouncey riverboat blues with harmonica, a bit of extra 78 shellack in Pokey's voice. High-speed, fun, with a nice harmonica break.
7 (2:52) **** Yes, some wonderful Western Blues emceeing, Bob Wills calls to his soloists-- cornet, trombone, banjo. Elegantly professional take of the Tampa Red composition.
8 (4:42) ****** Beautiful '20s Spaniard-tinted tin pan alley pastiche-- castanets, American-tinted mariachi... beautiful melody with swaying "la-di-da-di-da"s, atmospheric and haunted.
9 (3:13) ***** Slow, sad and sweet guitar (reminiscent of Mississippi John Hurt), with full-out broken-hearted country blues vocals. Small, cozy arrangement-- backing harmony group is subtle and so sorrowful.
10 (2:52) *** Sunshiney r&b (reminiscent of slick '50s soul-pop groups)
11 (3:09) **** More Western Swing influenced-- steel guitar and banjo strumming. As a take on the genre, just so frickin' perfectly executed.
12 (3:10) ***** Rampaging ragtime winner, with whiskey-scented jazz group just frickin' swingin it--

Track Listing
1. Something In The Water   7. All Night Long
2. Wanna Be Your Man   8. Goodbye, Barcelona
3. Underground   9. Far Away
4. When Did You Leave Heaven   10. The Spark
5. Cairo, Illinois   11. Bad Girl
6. Actin' A Fool   12. Knockin' The Dust Off The Rust Belt Tonight