It's still a bitter song, but Harlem-by-way-of-Virginia blues vets the Holmes Brothers' take on "Close the Door" is still a whole lot friendlier than the nasty Samuel Jackson blues track posted in this space yesterday. Listen to the way the Brothers apply their gritty gospel voices to harmonies that could've come from the Grand Ol' Opry; and dig how the grease of an acoustic guitar rubs off on the mandolin -- an instrument rarely used in the blues. Taken from one of my favorite albums of this new year, the song is an example of how you can play folk music without sounding like a relic.
-- D.M.
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