Saddle Old Spike: Fiddle Music from Missouri

Fred Stoneking is a little less frenetic of a square dance fiddler than some, which gives listeners to Saddle Old Spike a bit more of a chance to step back and enjoy the intricate melodies and structures of the music. More than most, Stoneking's music is delivered in a good- natured, good-timey manner, with guitar support from daughter Alita Stoneking and producer Gordon McCann. Some of these tunes will seem familiar, while others have a slightly different twist to them. Fred Stoneking provides lengthy liner notes about himself, his father, and much else besides, along with annotations for individual tracks. The recording is excellent, and fans of fiddle music will be glad to know that their hearing will suffer no needless abrasions.