Good Things Outweigh the Bad , The

STRING BAND / BLUEGRASS / OLD TIME

Banjo picker Curtis McPeake and guitarist Andy May team up for an entertaining and varied set of old-timey ballads, country gospel, and mountain style tunes. Both gentlemen sing lead and harmony Fiddle and upright bass round out the quartet. There’s no mandolin.

FCC clean

1 ** Mid-tempo. Nicely done cover of a Flatt & Scruggs tune about getting thru life with a positive attitude. Good harmony singing and fine ensemble playing——no BG solos. (3:39)
2 ** Mid-tempo. A farewell song recorded by the Carter Family & many others. This version is energetic and fun. (3:00)
3 Slow. A trad mountain string-band setting of a W.B. Yeats poem. Drags a bit. (2:34)
4 Mid-slow. Trad railroad ballad featuring nice banjo & fiddle. It’s ok, not great. (2:48)
5 * Mid-fast. Old spiritual (rec’d by The Weavers) sped up into bluegrass gospel. (2:57)
6 * Mid-tempo. Sentimental, nostalgic thoughts of the old home back in the South. (3:06)
7 Mid-fast. Silly novelty song about Grampa’s surprisingly smart mule. Skip it. (2:38)
8 Mid-tempo. The classic folk ballad of man-vs-machine (aka “John Henry”) (3:33)
9 ** Mid-fast. Old hymn turned country-gospel classic, done with great feeling. (2:47)
10 * Mid-fast instrumental. Trad fiddle tune (named for an Appalachian dish of dried string beans). A fun, spirited showcase for the band’s fiddler. (1:25)