Golden Delicious – Old School

Over the past few years, this hard-working band from Portland, Oregon, has been performing around town with such frequency that one would guess most locals would have gotten their fill by now. Not even close. No matter the venue, Golden Delicious fills it to capacity with a throng of fans who appreciate the band’s infectious blend of old-time music distilled through a wide array of musical influences.

Old School, the band’s debut disc, reveals much of the recipe for their success. “Hot corn, cold corn”, a traditional children’s tune, has been vocally reworked for an adult audience. A rollicking version of “HooDoo Bash” reveals the band’s penchant for venturing into unchartered territory, while a cover of “Waltz Across Texas” shows the kinder, gentler and more earnest side of the band. Original tunes such as the preposterously titled “Cletus, for the very last time, get the hell out of your sister’s dress, for the very last time” reveal the band at its foot-stompin’, banjo-pickin’ and frenzied-fiddlin’ finest.

The only real drawback is the inability of the recording to fully capture the live energy of Golden Delicious — alas, a near impossible task in many cases for this eminently entertaining band.