Mary Flower says of this latest album, that it marks a departure from her usual style, normally a ragtime-blues acoustic driven mix of blues standards and self-penned tracks. And yet, that solid background shines through here with wonderful, crisp and clear guitar work matched by a mellow voice that seems to improve steadily with age, like a good wine or a fine malt.
All titles here were written by Flower and she plays both standard acoustic and slide guitar with strength, sensitivity and soul throughout the mix. From the opener, ‚So Far Doin‘ Alright‘ she shimmies on to a more typical ragtimey theme with ‚Ragtag Rag‘. ‚Sashay My Way‘ is a cracking, walking boogie piece and the closer, ‚Atchafalaya‘ is a beautiful, rhapsodic piece of playing, reflecting and echoing the genesis of this release which was recorded down in New Orleans a few months ago. For me, Mary Flower is probably the finest female acoustic ragtime-blues picker out there, so it goes without saying, this CD is recommended.
