2006 : 11 "Red Clay Country" by Paul Brown

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Bubbling banjo and honest, simple vocals define my choice for 2006. "Red Clay Country" is a traditional blues piece arranged and recorded by Paul Brown in 2006. The recording makes it sound like Paul is playing in your living room and the repeating fragments of the lyrics lull me into imagining the story of what's going on in the song. Why is the man leaving where he currently lives? Who is his long-haired buddy and why doesn't he tell her he's gone himself? What makes him avoid his aging papa? Each and every time I listen I imagine a new slightly different story and that is one aspect that keeps me intrigued and coming back to a lot of old traditionals, especially this one. The banjo playing in this song rolls excellently along and nicely riffs on the melody of the vocal line. It pulses back and forth between neat little slides and accelerating rolls that pause and resume in a pleasing fashion. —Dave Evans Listen: Paul Brown >> "Red Clay Country"