River Flows, Vol 2, The

ACOUSTIC FOLK

When the Covid pandemic kept guitar legend Jorma Kaukonen (ex of Jefferson Airplane and ever since with Hot Tuna) from touring, he began streaming weekly “Quarantine Concerts” from his Ohio guitar camp & performance center, Fur Peace Ranch. John Hurlbut joined in, and the two hit it off. This is the second CD put out by the pair. Hurlbut sings and strums; Kaukonen plays along, providing the occasional lead riff or flourish. The “home made” quality of the recording, like two guys sitting in a living room with a microphone, lets the pure authenticity and love for the music come through.

FCC clean


1 * “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” – slow, stately take on oft-covered Dylan classic (6:59)
2 ** “Hickory Wind” – Gram Parsons’s ode to the Carolina pines has been done by many (incl Baez, Byrds, Emmylou, Lucinda Willams); this stands with the best of them (4:08)
3 ** “A Little Faster” – mid-tempo. this was on Hot Tuna’s 2011 album, Steady as She Goes. It rocked with an electric psychedelic-era groove then; now it’s a showcase for two fine acoustic guitarists. Jorma shows off some nice lead parts. (6:50)
4 “Seems Like a Long Time” – slow. you might remember this one from Rod Stewart’s masterpiece, Every Picture Tells a Story. Here it’s a pretty vocal duet with (sadly) an uncredited female singer on the second part. (3:45)
5 “All Along the Watchtower” – slow. Jorma’s solo highlights this Dylan cover (5:30)
6 ** “This Land Is Your Land” – mid-tempo. As joyful & moving a version of Woody Guthrie’s beloved anthem as I have heard, with terrific playing as well (4:28)
7 ** “A Little Faster” – see track #3; radio edit just means 2 mins shorter (4:52)