She Went Upstairs Uncle Earl

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CD

  • Release Date: 03/25/2003
  • Original Release: 2002
  • Label: JO SERRAPERE
  • UPC: 660662182522

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  • Overview
  • Tracks
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
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She Went Upstairs

1LISTENCharlie He's a Good Ol' Man 2:30
2LISTENThe Blackest Crow 2:44
3LISTENOrphan Train 4:03
4LISTENDream My Girl 5:05
5LISTENRubber Dolly 1:40
6LISTENWhere the Soul of Man Never Dies 2:46
7LISTENBaby 2:56
8LISTENLost Child 3:39
9LISTENOver in the Glory Land 2:50
10LISTENThe Fox 2:12
11LISTENSnow White Dove 3:35
12LISTENFreight Train 2:38

About this Artist

Editorial Reviews

Uncle Earl is that all-female roots and traditional music project fronted by Jo Serrapere and K.C. Groves that also stars Laurie Lewis, Sally's Van Meter and Truitt, and Pooh Stevenson. With the exception of two originals, one each by the two front-women, the rest of the material is culled from traditional material and carefully chosen covers of old-timey music, bluegrass, and folk songs. Of the 12 selections here, there is nary a weak one. Serrapere and Groves' vocals blend in perfect plaintive harmony. Both are excellent lead singers as well. She Went Upstairs is a journey in song, through the backfields and wooded lots of an America that may be disappearing, but remains intact in certain territories, and certainly lives archetypically in the hearts, strings, and voices of Uncle Earl. In some cases, they improve upon an original, such as the pair's rendering of Utah Phillips' nugget "Orphan Train." With Stevenson's mandolin driving the track accompanied by Van Meter on bass and Groves on guitar, the two singers alternate verses and turn the mythological symbolism and clichéd text of Philips' story into a genuine tale of sadness, tragedy, and longing. Likewise, William York's usually uptight, whitebread gospel tune "Over in the Gloryland" comes off more as a Civil War-era gospel march than anything else, especially with the deft three-part harmony of Lewis, Serrapere, and Groves, accompanied only by a banjo and bass by Van Meter. Their turns and twist of the lyric and refrains make the tune seem alive with meaning and feeling. The treatment of Elizabeth Cotton's "Freight Train," which closes the disc, is both a moving and haunting reminder of the tune's original meaning. "Snow White Dove," a murder ballad which contains the lyric the band took the title from, is a song that Serrapere renders with a plaintive reading of the chilling lyric as a contemporary situation with a folk blues lilt in her voice is further accented by Van Meter's piercing, slow, deliberate dobro playing. In all, Uncle Earl's project is a worthy one, in that it provides a contemporary view of classic material while not resorting to distorting any of the original texts. Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

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She Went Upstairsby Anonymous

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October 07, 2003: Uncle Earl is a band that includes guitarists/singers K.C. Groves and Jo Serrapere, two women who have performed together in Michigan for over five years. While both are award-winning songwriters, this project emphasizes the duo singing a traditional "collection of gospel tunes, sad love songs and good, old-time farm kitchen music." Together, they remind me of a couple hillbilly warblers that one might've heard on the Victrola in the late 1930s or 40s. Most of their material is drawn from an old-time Appalachian repertoire, with songs like Charlie He's A Good Ol' Man, The Blackest Crow, Rubber Dolly, Lost Child, Over in the Glory Land, The Fox, and Snow White Dove. They also cover Where the Soul of Man Never Dies (from Wayne Raney), Orphan Train (from Utah Phillips), and Freight Train (from Elizabeth Cotton). Two originals are also offered. Jo Serrapere's "Dream My Girl" is a woman's tragic ballad about a bad relationship that spans twelve years. K.C. Groves' "Baby" is a slow plea for marriage and togetherness through bad times and good. K.C. and Jo are joined by guests Laurie Lewis (fiddle), Sally Van Meter (banjo, bass, slide guitar, resonator guitar), Pooh Stevenson (mandolin on two tracks), Jean Ballhorn (fiddle on two tracks), and Tahmineh Gueramy (harmony on one track). When the band tours, I'm told that Uncle Earl includes K.C., Jo, Tahmineh Gueramy, as well as Casey Henry (banjo) and Amanda Kowalski (bass). For an album of raw-boned and unadulterated traditional music on a high-quality contemporary recording, I encourage you to check out "She Went Upstairs." These new-time mountain songbirds are helping to keep the old-time tradition and folklore in the forefront of the music industry. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)