The Grape Vine Twiss

[Rob MacKillop]

Because the Blog entries are not noted on the Latest Acivity box on the Main page, I've decided to post to the Forum instead as I would like everyone here to know of my enthusiasm for Tim's 'latest' CD. Here is my initial short review:

Got through the post this morning The Grape Vine Twist by a certain Mr Twiss...can't stop listening to it. Highly recommended. I got mine from CD Baby, no hassle. This boy can play. The tunes are all worth repeated hearing, and Tim has added some complementary percussion. 5 Stars!

To which Marc added: I just love the "Narragansett Jig" track (and I'm stealing that chromatic bass run)...but the whole thing is uniformly excellent. It is a 'must have' disc.

I was asking myself why it took me so long to buy this disc. One problem was that as far as CDBaby was concerned, Scotland didn't exist. When you had to fill in the address part it asked for country - Great Britain appeared in the drop-down menu - OK - then it asked for county - but all the counties were in England. So Scotland either didn't exist, or was contained in an English county! I wrote to CDBaby expressing my bewilderment and anger (no mention of Wales or Northern Ireland either), and they wrote back apologetically saying that no-one had brought this to their attention before, and they have now fixed the problem.

Another reason was that I had heard Tim play many of the tunes on his excellent videos, which I could play and replay as often as I wanted to. So why buy the disc? Well, the disc has a much better sound quality. Played through a good CD system, the banjo sounds fantastic, like Tim is in the room. Secondly, Tim's arrangements - added percussion in bones and tambourine, and other banjo parts. You get a much fuller sound than on the videos.
So, you have no excuse, run along to CDBaby and order a copy - if they have any left?

[razyn]

I'd just like to refresh this thread, or post (in that nobody has responded -- is it a "thread" w/o two ends?). I got Tim's CD at Harper's Ferry the other day. It's in my car -- very listenable, even if you aren't actively trying to learn to play stroke style. In addition to the perceptive comments made here last summer by Rob MacKillop, there's the fact that the banjo was recorded in "studio" conditions -- i.e. indoors, with air conditioning, or whatever else is necessary to keep the instrument in tune. Intonation, timbre, etc. is a lot better than what one usually hears under combat conditions -- such as the Pry Barn at Antietam/Sharpsburg during a winter gale.

Another thing I like about it -- no words. So it's OK to drive through DC with it playing, and even with the windows down. I can't really do that with "The Early Minstrel Show," or a couple of others I can recall.

Also, I don't do CD Baby, or otherwise download music, but I do buy the odd CD from time to time. Tim has a store; just buy it from him.

http://www.milfordmusic.com/Tim%20Twiss/tim_twiss.htm

[Tim Twiss]

Thanks for the mention of the disc. I have never really talked about it before, but I chose the length because I am an old LP fan, and the side of a record seems sufficient. It might be a bit short as a CD, but it is good for one listen right through. At that point it seems enough. It is also not overpriced for that reason. I chose tunes and mixed textures to keep it interesting, with several tunes that had not been recorded yet. If you stick with a certain style of this music too long, they all sound the same, so there are lots of different things on the CD. Also, I wanted it to be accessible to people not familiar with Minstrel Banjo, and yet have enough stuff to interest the "players" who buy it.
Just my comments.

[Joel Hooks]

Tim, pm me your info so I can send you a check for a copy.

Tim Twiss said:

Thanks for the mention of the disc. I have never really talked about it before, but I chose the length because I am an old LP fan, and the side of a record seems sufficient. It might be a bit short as a CD, but it is good for one listen right through. At that point it seems enough. It is also not overpriced for that reason. I chose tunes and mixed textures to keep it interesting, with several tunes that had not been recorded yet. If you stick with a certain style of this music too long, they all sound the same, so there are lots of different things on the CD. Also, I wanted it to be accessible to people not familiar with Minstrel Banjo, and yet have enough stuff to interest the "players" who buy it. Just my comments.