For a few reasons, it's difficult to sit through all 17 Jimmie Rodgers tracks on ASV Living Era's MY OLD PAL in a single session.
1.) Condition of these 1927-32 78s varies from barely good to barely fair. Filtering laid atop surface crackle doesn't fully eliminate it, but does ruin any possible dynamic brightness.
2.) After the first dozen times you hear Jimmie's "yodel-lay-ee-oh.. yodel-lay-ee-oh.. yodel-lay-EEE" it grates on the nerves, and almost every song uses this phrase.
3.) While voice and solo guiar is nice, track after track of it gets tedious. The few sides that feature backing musicians are welcome, but not offsetting enough.
4.) "We Shall Miss Him When the Evening Shadows Fall" by Claire Rodgers (Jimmie's widow) is well-meant, but --oh my!-- this gal just can't sing (despite the CD's liner notes hyperbolically labeling her effort as ('enchanting').
Individual numbers from "My Old Pal" would mix in well on a various artist album, but hearing this 56-minute disc from front to back may leave you singin' the "Never No Mo' Blues."
