Old Time Music, 1963-65

As a document of this string band's live skill, these 30 songs present the virtuoso trio of John Cohen (vocals, guitar, banjo), Tracy Schwarz (vocals, guitar, fiddle, acoustic bass), and Mike Seeger (vocals, lap dulcimer, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, autoharp, harmonica) on their home turf--the pivotal early '60s Newport Folk Festivals. If there were any doubt, this band could play with the best of the original old time musicians whose work they emulated. Doc Boggs and Sam and Kirk McGee even sit in on a couple of numbers, though the show belongs to the trio's impassioned harmonies and hard, precise picking. --Roy Francis Kasten