Among the Oak & Ash: Buy for $10.99Among the Oak & Ash originally is a duo of two singer/songwriters who were successful in their solo careers--Josh Joplin and Garrison Starr. This band takes old Appalachian folk songs, lullabies, gospel songs, etc. and turns them into rock songs.
The self-titled album Among the Oak & Ash is one of my favorite albums of all my music.
Genre: Folk rock
Sound: Beautiful ballads and hard rock songs, but they definitely rock a lot harder live. Garrison's and Josh's voices sound amazingly good together aside from being strong independently.
Writing: It's mostly covers, but these are songs that have survived because they are still relevant. The couple songs written by them fit in perfectly with the classics.
The Good: An eclectic set of stories
The Bad: Some people may be unwilling to try it because old Appalachian folk songs with a modern flavor is not a mainstream genre.
The Unique: The idea and the voice qualities
If you're only going to buy one song: Angel Gabriel
If you're only going to buy three songs: Angel Gabriel, Pretty Horses, Big Mouth Strikes Again
Typical Lyrics: "You can't break a man of dreams, Joe Hill, Joe Hill / You never could and you never ever will / Struggle on, struggle on, struggle on, struggle on."
A Taster: Peggy-o...
There have been some songs released from the next album. These recordings are very quiet, but still very moving. Garrison has left the band. Right now Bailey Cooke is providing the female vocals and some banjo playing.
Personal photo:
Among the Oak and Ash in the Bowery Ballroom in New York City June 2009.
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