Latest releases reviewed

TIM O'BRIEN Fiddler's Green and Cornbread Nation Sugar Hill Records ****

There seems to be something of a Mason-Dixon line running between Tim O'Brien's two recent projects. Cornbread Nation is the southern side, full of slinky blues, full-throated gospel, rowdy rockabilly and traditional work songs, while Fiddler's Green focuses on O'Brien's range of old-time and British and Irish folk with a common theme of death. Each album is absolutely self-contained and excellent in its own right, which is a tribute to O'Brien's discipline, ability, his wide knowledge of American music of all hues, and to all the musicians who played on both albums. O'Brien fiddles (literally and metaphorically) on many of the tracks, changing lyrics and melodies as he sees fit, but the spirit of the various traditions remains intact. www.timobrien.net

Joe Breen