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This is the real deal, the unvarnished goods, as pure as it gets: a strong second album of early country and original acoustic/roots music from the critically acclaimed, Vancouver, B.C. based trio Slowdrag.

Slow-Fidelity is the much anticipated follow disc to Slowdrag’s Ploughin’ it Right to the Fence, an exploration of old-time sounds that was praised by Froots Magazine as “utterly alive and contemporary, with searing high harmonies, some heart-stopping picking, and the raw sparkling edge that’s there in the best music.”

Six of the songs are original gems with a respect for tradition that the Vancouver Courier has praised as going “straight to the heart of Classic Country.”

Ranging easily from their own material to fresh interpretations of classics, singer-songwriters Koralee Tonack and Craig McKerron are described by the Vancouver Province as having “really nailed the old-time mountain harmonies.” Paul Bergman’s powerful acoustic bass anchors Slow-Fidelity, superbly produced by mandolin master John Reischman, who also contributes a cameo introduction to McKerron’s ‘Uh-Huh’ on mandola. Craig adds mandolin to his guitar repertoire on the new album, joining guest players Ivan Rosenberg of the Bay Area on resophonic guitar and Vancouver rockabilly veteran Steve Taylor on hi-hat percussion.

Slow-Fidelity is a fine companion to Slowdrag’s first recording, which Bluegrass Now Magazine described as a “joyous, old-time acoustic album favourably reminiscent of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.” The sound has evolved, and it’s better than ever. Take a spin.

TRACK LISTING

1. You Are My Flower (A. P. Carter)
2. Ronnie's Blues #2 (Ronnie Hayward)
3. Rock Salt and Nails (Bruce Phillips)
4. Climb A Mountain (Koralee Tonack)
5. Foolish Foolish Me (Frances Tonack)
6. Thanks Just The Same (Craig McKerron)
7. Uh Huh (Craig McKerron)
8. I'm Just Here To Get My Baby Out of Jail (Karl Davis & Harty Taylor)
9. Down In The Willow Garden (Traditional)
10. Big Blue Sky (Koralee Tonack)
11. In The Shadow of the Clinch Mountain (A. P. Carter)

LISTEN to You Are My Flower [MP3]

CREDITS

Slowdrag is:
Koralee Tonack - vocals and guitar
Craig McKerron - vocals, guitar and mandolin
Paul Bergman - upright bass and vocals
with special guests
John Reischman - mandola
Ivan Rosenberg - dobro
Steve Taylor - drums

Produced by John Reischman and Slowdrag
Recorded at Subliminal Sound, Vancouver BC
Recorded & mixed by Eduardo Ottoni
Mastered by Craig Waddell at Gotham City Studios
Photographs by Janet Baxter
© 2005 All Rights Reserved, Slowdrag Music

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Koralee Tonack and Craig McKerron weren’t even born when the pioneers of North American old-time music started passing on, but one listen to this album and you’d suspect the two West Coast singers were in on it from the start.

Possessed of the kind of high and robust voices that make folks sit up and take notice, Koralee and Craig’s duet blend is the heart and soul of Slowdrag. The humble words, the pure sounds, the elegantly sparse instrumentation all respect the genre’s intrinsic tradition of stark contrast - alternately sweet and rugged, tender and hard, playful and mournful.

Clearly, they love the music, and both have penned delightful new songs that seamlessly mix with the golden-age hits of the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, the Louvin Brothers and later stars such as Hazel Dickens. Koralee’s mom, Frances "Frets" Tonack also contributes two fine new additions to the old-time canon that complete a kind of family circle for Slowdrag, much like their musical forebears.

The playing is uniformly succinct and sympathetic, from Craig’s country/blues-inspired guitar leads to Paul Bergman’s fat bass lines. Producer John Reischman enriches the mix with his always tasteful and tone-rich mandolin, and Nick Hornbuckle pops in with a deft hand on the banjo. The instrumental engine has horsepower to spare.

Old-time drives straight into the new millennium here, and the road ahead is clear. This is music for the ages.

- from the liner notes by Jim McNulty.

TRACK LISTING

1. Shadows of My Mind (Traditional)
2. The Working Girl Blues (Hazel Dickens)
3. I Don’t Want Your Rambling Letters (Nathan, Hedd, Starr)
4. My Alberta Prairie Home (Frances Tonack)
5. Scraps From Your Table (Hazel Dickens)
6. The Seven Year Blues (Ira & Charlie Louvin)
7. Blues Don’t Come For Me (Frances Tonack)
8. Madrid (Craig McKerron)
9. It’s Mighty Dark to Travel (Bill Monroe)
10. Open Door (Ron Hayward)
11. The Storms are on the Ocean (Traditional)
12. My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own (Butch Hancock)
13. Crumple Faced Lover (Koralee Tonack)

LISTEN to Seven Year Blues [MP3]

CREDITS

Slowdrag is:
Koralee Tonack - vocals / guitar
Craig McKerron - vocals / lead & rhythm guitar
Paul Bergman - upright bass
with special guests
John Reischman - mandolin
Nick Hornbuckle - banjo

Produced by John Reischman
Recorded at Ogre Studios, Vancouver BC
Mixed & mastered by Bob Hamilton
at Old Crow Recording in Whitehorse YT
Engineered by Kory Burk
Photographs by Janet Baxter
© 2000 All Rights Reserved, Slowdrag Music