Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir - Fighting and Onions (2005)

Fighting and Onions was recorded in their rehearsal space during a harsh cold snap that ushered in 2005. Though there are a few more overdubs than their debut, the quartet recorded in the same room at the same time, like a good band should. At least half of the session's 18 songs are strictly live performances mixed through ambient room microphones. The brooding interpretation of Reverend Gary Davis' "Death Don't Have No Mercy" or the may-as-well-be-a-hardcore-band rendition of Son House's "Preaching Blues" display exactly what went down in the room. No embellishments. Understand? What you hear is the energy of a band playing, not a producer cutting and pasting. If musicians in the 1930s could pull off that kind of recording, then what is the excuse for many of today's musicians coddled by studio technology? Is Fighting and Onions pristine? No. Big deal. That isn't the point.

There's no doubting the intensity, emotion and, at times, weirdness on originals like "Oh Sorrow" and "Lousy Drunk". As much as the likes of Dock Boggs and Skip James are mentioned as ingredients in the AMGC sound, Judd Palmer's unusually tuned guitar and banjo, Jay Woolley's unorthodox drum kit outfitted with metal implements, Bob Keelaghan's two-in-one guitar parts, and Vlad Sobolewski's string slapping help garner frequent references to roots music mutants like Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart.

Therein lays the AMGC's appeal. As music critics note, the band's performances make people crane their necks at folk festivals and holler at the top of their lungs in crowded, rock bars. The AMGC often scratch their heads, stumble on a few phrases, then shrug their shoulders when asked how to describe their style. Let's just say it's part reverence for the source, part indifference for getting the notes perfect.

Tracklist:

01 Stay Here for Awhile 1.59 MB
02 Buried Them in Water 5.00 MB
03 Special Rider 10.47 MB
04 Oh Sorrow 8.90 MB
05 Weasel 4.34 MB
06 Look Up Look Down That Lonesome R 7.35 MB
07 North Country Grass 2.06 MB
08 Preaching Blues 6.21 MB
09 Vinegar & Piss 2.37 MB
10 Table O' The Lord 6.49 MB
11 Bouncin' Betty 1.76 MB
12 Come Along with Me 6.95 MB
13 Death Don't Have No Mercy 9.34 MB
14 Lighten Up, Would Ya_ 1.67 MB
15 Lousy Drunk 8.89 MB
16 Things I Forgot 5.14 MB
17 Not Too Bad 11.02 MB
18 Stay Here for Awhile (reprise) 1.57 MB