White House is listed as the new bluegrass supergroup and, after listening to the 12 tracks on offer here, you begin to consider this is more than just good marketing.

"Cedar Grove" takes off at breakneck speed and never falters. Listening to the lovely track "Drifting and Dreaming of You," you will also drift and dream. You will drift back to the 1950s and dream of those carefree days and music on the porch. You will be then awakened by "Cotton Eye Joe" and go flying along with banjo and vocals.

To sing a song like "Mother is Gone" is always a gamble. It can be over-sentimentalised or sound insincere. White House manage a minor miracle by getting this track just right.

"Searching for Yesterday" is a lovely, evocative song of times past, given the production of today. I particularly like "Who Done It?" which has a lovely fresh feel with banjo and fiddle complementing each other to perfection, with witty lyrics and a bass making it a perfect track.

It is often dangerous to class any group as "super" as it can lead to expectations that cannot be delivered. I am glad to report that White House delivers on the promise. This CD is an excellent introduction to bluegrass or an essential for the established collection.

- Rambles
written by Nicky Rossiter
published 7 February 2004