(photograph by Wayne Sides)


Doppelganger Blues (2005) – Bare Knuckles – After more than a year of conflicting schedules and false starts Bare Knuckles reassembled to record their third CD continuing with the expanded group from Alabama Dust except for the departure of Penny Qubeck and the addition of Jeff Berry on acoustic guitar. For the first time the groups primary songwriters, Jake Berry and Wayne Sides, wrote songs specifically for the project rather than drawing from previously written work. The result is a spontaneous, earthy set that draws even more deeply on the foundations of American music. There are tracks here that would not seem out of place on field recordings from the first half of the 20th century. But those roots are also enhanced on tracks like “Prison Bell” and “Hitch Yr Pony” to include electric instruments. Doppelganger Blues is an example of where folk music originates and what it has become. It never departs from the old themes of betrayed lovers, murder ballads and ghostly dirges, and demonstrates how timeless these themes remain. To download “Doppelganger Blues,” “NYC Walking Blues,” “Help Me Jonah,” “The Night Before Tupelo,” and “Cruel Bands of Angels” click here.