When the Sun's Gone Down [Digipak] (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Langhorne Slim (vocals, guitar, harmonica, Fender Rhodes piano); Langhorne Slim; Christopher Bear (lap steel guitar, saxophone, triangle, bells); John Kingsley Hall (harmonica); Brendan Ryan (accordion); Chris Taylor (saxophone, bells); Ben Shandley (trombone); Lane Brown (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond b-3 organ, drums); Paul DeFiglia (upright bass); Adira Amram, Sarah Crespo (background vocals); Charles Butler (banjo).

Audio Mixers: Chris Taylor; Malachi DeLorenzo.

Recording information: Brooklyn, NY (07/15/2004-01/14/2005).

Photographer: Drew Goren.

Arranger: Langhorne Slim.

This is a deluxe two-disc reissue of the Brooklyn-based bluegrass and folk revivalist Langhorne Slim's well-received 2005 album, adding five unreleased tracks to the original's 15. The preternaturally gifted songsmith plays with both heart and talent on his sleeve, with real enthusiasm (and no traces of opportunism) for the bluegrass sound. And WHEN THE SUN'S GONE DOWN might well be his best all-around collection: there's the usual flying-finger banjo and steel-string virtuosity on tracks like "In the Midnight" and "And If Its True," beautiful high-range vocal trills on "Mary," and touching ballads like "Checking Out," among many other highlights.

It would be easy to mistake Langhorne Slim for yet another neo-folkie with a song to sing if it were not for the shear exuberance of his performance style on When the Sun's Gone Down. His strained, high, and always intense vocals provide the first clue that this guy isn't another New England singer/songwriter on the make. He kicks off with the energetic, upbeat "In the Midnight," a little ditty accompanied by a frantic drumbeat and a jaunty banjo. Slim's also joined by a group of singers who add odds and ends that can loosely be described as "background vocals." They shout and soar, creating yet another odd texture to these fun, offbeat songs. The acoustic arrangements remind one a bit of late-'60s folk-rock, the kind that groups like the Incredible String Band made in Britain. "Sisterhood" begins with an atmospheric organ before dropping into a banjo-guitar-bass and percussion setup that unrolls like a psychedelic Sunday afternoon. Even on a simple song like "I Ain't Proud" Slim twists and turns and spits out each lyric like they really -- honest to God -- mean something. Some listeners, addicted to a more straightforward folk aesthetic, might find Slim a bit over the top. If folk is to have any future, however, artists will have to move in new, provocative ways like Slim does on When the Sun's Gone Down. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. minimize