As Good as It Gets: Skiffle

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: September 05, 2000
• Type: Collection (various artists)
• Genre: Folk

Review

In the U.S., few music listeners have any awareness of the British skiffle phenomenon of the late '50s, and the only performer from this era to enjoy any kind of profile in America is Lonnie Donegan, whose "Rock Island Line" charted here. Other notable skiffle acts, such as Johnny Duncan (not the '70s country star), the Vipers Skiffle Group, and the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group are unknown except to an elite few. The genre itself was basically an attempt to replicate American folk music in Britain by playing American folk and blues songs in an affectedly rural-sounding manner, and the result often sounded something like a strummy, energetic cousin of bluegrass coupled with the instrumental sound of Elvis' Sun sessions. The Disky label has released a series of two-disc genre overviews under the title As Good As It Gets, and this volume compiles 61 vintage skiffle tracks by all of the above-mentioned acts (including Donegan's "Rock Island Line") and adds cuts by others such as the Original Barnstormers Spasm Band, Don Lang, Jimmy Jackson's Rock'n'Skiffle, and Johnny Parker's Washboard Band. Most of the recordings are from the mid- to late '50s, although a couple of post-skiffle tracks from the '60s are included. Also tacked on are two out of place sounding 1929 recordings by Blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four, who the compiler alleges are direct forefathers of skiffle. Offering a wealth of tracks and good packaging, As Good As It Gets: Skiffle is a very inexpensive import and provides an excellent overview of this little-known genre. ~ Greg Adams, Rovi

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