Stairwell Sisters - 'Get Off Your Money'

'Get Off Your Money' kicks off the way all good old timey albums should: with a fast-moving, dance-inducing fiddle tune. From there, the record goes into a collection of classic old school, old timey traditional tunes and a handful of well-composed originals.

Out of the 17 tunes on this album, more than half of them are pulled from the pool of traditional folk songs that so many old timey bands cull from time to time. Some ("Hangman's Tree," "Stay All Night") are a little more inspired than others ("Boat's Up the River"), but the Sisters give them all excellent arrangements and performances.

While producer Lloyd Maines is an exquisite pedal steel player, his addition to "Boat's Up the River" (purchase/download) veers the song off in some direction it doesn't seem to want to go. Nonetheless, it's hard to criticize such exquisite instrumentation, regardless of whether it confuses things.

The album's title track is a traditional tune taken "From Charlie and Ira Stripling of Alabama," and it stands out as possibly the best instrumental moment on the disc. Here, the Sisters' synergy seems strong and tight, as if they're playing one big, multi-layered instrument. Also stand-out is Tommy Jarrell's "Stay All Night" (purchase/download), which kicks off (literally) with a clogging solo and then moves into a barn burner of a fiddle tune.

One trick of old timey bands these days is writing old timey-sounding songs about modern day events. Some bands can do it without losing some of that authenticity, some just can't. Luckily, the Stairwell Sisters have a knack for writing old timey songs that sound like they were pulled out the dirt of a century ago. "Sleep When You're Dead" is a good example. Penned by bassist Martha Hawthorne (with collaborator Bill Foss), the tune perfectly encompasses the energy of a porch-front jam session.

The following, "Black Eyes" (purchase/download) is a song "about a rascal" (according to the liner notes). It's a great little dark fiddle tune that perfectly nails the subject and the style.

All in all, the Stairwell Sisters (with the help of producer Lloyd Maines) made an excellent effort with Get Off Your Money. This would be a welcome addition in any old timey fan's collection.