With the current intense interest in Americana music and old-time country, dozens of acts have found a taste for banjos and corn likker. Even the mucho mainstream CMA just awarded both record and single of the year to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Kansas’s Split Lip Rayfield’s brand of bluegrass tweaks the formula a bit with its punkily erratic instrumental time changes and harmonies reminiscent of the Eagles and CSNY. Though the tunes on Never Make It Home (Bloodshot) are often toe-tappin’, the affected vocals and musical structure often seem too paint-by-numbers. Bassist Jeff Eaton does get a nod for originality: His homemade instrument (dubbed “The Stitchgiver”) is little more than an old Ford gas tank with a couple of strings tacked on. Talk about your DIY aesthetic.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2001.
