Country songs that are meant to be fun recorded live make up a large part of the CD. Dakota Sid's deep voice rumbles and rolls, at times similar to many of the recognizable names in country, but he varies it enough to keep the music original.

Sid's idea of a campfire tune and mine are not the same at all. His campfire tune "Pale Blue" is a beautiful slow dirge about the early morning light. It's absolutely lovely, but not one a lively group might sing around the fire at a beach party; it's more like a lullaby.

Two days of recording, on July 22 and Sept. 23, 2004, in Nevada City brought this CD into production, and instrumentally, it's a gem. A boot-kicking mandolin instrumental on track six pretty near carries the price of the CD by itself.

Dakota Sid is joined by Travers Clifford, Bill Smart and Skip Alan Smith as the Badland Serenaders. These guys are a good representation of the kind of music that crosses age barriers. That's one of the great aspects of the folk music scene -- age is seldom an issue, for players and fans.

It's all in how the music touches the listener. "Killing Time Won't Wound Eternity," or in Dakota's words, "It's okay to go fishing," might touch that man who likes to get away to smell the woods or ocean, and the next track is a sensitive song that caresses a woman's heart.

So, there's a great stretch of country folk material on this CD. "The Gypsy Ride" is a song that smiles from deep inside and celebrates a great pride in wonderful music and friends. I enjoyed this CD a lot and it's earned a place in my vehicle stash of CDs.

by Virginia MacIsaac
Rambles.NET
14 October 2006

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