Cary Fridley – Neighbor Girl

In her former band the Freight Hoppers, Cary Fridleys rhythm guitar was the propulsive fuel that kept the group of old-time music youngsters from capsizing under the weight of tradition. That intimate familiarity with the energetic pulse of the music is transferred to her first solo recording, a fine document of her dedication to the genre.

Old-time music is typically distinguished from its grownup descendant, bluegrass, by the lack of individual solos in favor of sometimes frenetic, all-at-once ensemble playing. Fridleys band for this recording includes the standard bass, banjo, and fiddle, with Bill Monroe veteran Art Stamper filling that last role.

Fridleys singing should strike a chord with fans of Iris DeMent or Hazel Dickens, as she shares the cracked Appalachian sincerity of their unvarnished sound, untarnished by the modern worlds expectations. On the a cappella Young Emily, Fridley conjures up a deliciously creepy take on the song (by Dellie Norton) with nothing more than her voice, relying on her inner sense of rhythm to propel the tune.

Stamper is a constant presence, and even takes front-and-center on his own Bumblebee In The Ground, an upbeat fiddle instrumental. Elsewhere, Fridley tackles four tunes from the Carter Family songbook, two from the Coon Creek Girls, and one each from Fiddlin John Carson and Flatt & Scruggs.

She seems most at home with the Carter Family material, rendering a gently swinging Shadow Of The Pines and an appropriately chugging Cannonball Blues. Though they could be considered overdone warhorses of old-time music, in Fridleys capable hands the songs are given new life. The rediscovery, rejuvenation and reinterpretation of tunes both long-lost and intimately familiar is a large part of this musics enduring appeal, and Fridley, despite being several generations removed, realizes that.