I'll Swing My Hammer With Both My Hands

TRADITIONAL AMERICANA
Exceptional album. Acoustic music with very fine songwriting, playing & vocals. A tour thru folk, bluegrass, cowboy songs, Texas swing, you name it. And it’s all good. Cahalen gets most of the lead vox, with Eli doing harmony; they switch on a few numbers. Cahalen plays banjo, mandolin, and dobro. Eli plays acoustic guitar. Guests add fiddle and bass.

No FCC issues.

1 * Mid-tempo. Nice vocal harmony with banjo and guitar interplay. (3:30)
2 ** Mid-fast. High & lonesome sound. A fiddle quotes “Battle of New Orleans.” (2:37)
3 ** Mid-fast. Joyous. Eli’s singing is wonderful. Guitar and mandolin. (4:06)
4 Mid-fast. Cahalen sings Ralph Stanley-styel. Banjo, guitar & fiddle. Merely good. (3:25)
5 * Mid-tempo. Clever, original folk song about Mama, Daddy and the family mule. Beautiful vocal harmony. Banjo & guitar. (3:27)
6 * Mid-tempo swing. Eli croons a pretty love song a la Bob Wills. Guitar & fiddle. (4:01)
7 Slow. Cahalen sings a spare, lonely cowboy song. Guitar accompaniment. (4:36)
8 Mid-fast then fast. Instrumental folk dance medley. Good for a mic break or PSA. (4:38)
9 *** Mid-fast. A folk-song masterpiece. Excellent lyrics & singing. Perfect mandolin & guitar. A life spent on hard jobs is rewarded by the love of a faithful woman. (4:06)
10 Mid-tempo. Cover of a Louvin Bros’ tune is good, not great. (2:36)
11 * Mid-slow. Eli sings uplifting country-gospel testimony. Cahalen’s harmony and mandolin fill it out. (2:35)
12 Mid-slow. Another with a religious theme. A call to repent. (4:31)
13 Very slow. Nicely sung funeral prayer. (3:07)
14 Mid-fast. Instrumental reprise of track 1 (2:07)