Baptism River Ramblers – Bring Me A Little Water
The first thing you hear when you put on the Baptism River Ramblers’ disc is the lazy sound of the fiddle soon joined by the soothing boom of Mike “Razz” Russell’s smooth bass on Huddie Ledbetter’s “Bring Me A Little Water Sylvie”. The song only gets better once Maria Asp’s gorgeous, calming, gospel-tinged vocal finds its way into the mix. Together on Bring Me A Little Water, the Minneapolis husband-wife duo takes thoughtful covers and makes them their own by soaking them in charming fiddle turns and inspired vocals.
Taking a break from his usual gig in the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers (featuring another husband-wife team, Mark Olson and Victoria Williams), Russell, a multi-instrumentalist and expert fiddler, also adds a handful of original songs to the lineup. His fiddle-free tunes “White Line Fever” and “Hello And Goodbye” are simple numbers that feature Asp’s fine autoharp skills, which are scattered throughout the album.
Some of the finest moments come when Russell and Asp harmonize as the fiddle dances in the background, as on J.B. Kane’s “The Sweetest Gift A Mother’s Smile” and A.P. Carter’s “Give Me The Roses”. Other standouts are the Woody Guthrie tune “RoseAnna”, with additional words by the duo, Alice Gerrard’s “Mamma’s Gonna Stay”, and another Carter song, “Give Me Your Love And I’ll Give You Mine”.
But the best part about the raw and uncomplicated country/folk/gospel on this album is that it feels like it was stress-free and fun to record. Proof lies in the final spiritual “Lonesome Valley”; it’s not hard to picture the couple happily holding hands, mouths wide open full of song, feet marching to the beat down that “rough and rocky” road.