Fannin' the Flames, released on Rounder in 1982, is a studio album from the Dry Branch Fire Squad, the Ohio-based string band led by banjoist, mandolinist, and singer Ron Thomason — one of the few acts of the era to give old-time and bluegrass material equal weight. Thomason's dry between-songs wit and his deep commitment to mountain tradition defined the band's identity as much as its playing did. He is joined here by Dick Irwin on guitar, John Baker on mandolin, and John Hisey on bass, working through a repertoire rooted in the older layers of Appalachian song and sacred singing. Where many bands of the early 1980s leaned toward polish, Dry Branch Fire Squad held to a rougher, more archaic sound, treating the tradition as something to inhabit rather than modernize. The album catches the group early, already clear about the unfashionable ground it meant to hold.
Tracklist
- 1 Down south in New Orleans 2:29
- 2 Fannin' the flames 3:20
- 3 Walking back to Richmond 3:19
- 4 I’ll Be No Stranger alt version 1:59
- 5 The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake alt version 3:48
- 6 Cowboy Jim 2:19
- 7 Mount Zion's lofty heights 3:32
- 8 Love's just a game 1:31
- 9 When heaven comes down 2:42
- 10 I have found the way 1:55
- 11 Aragon Mill alt version 3:04
- 12 The Golden Vanity alt version 4:16
- 13 Fatal wedding 4:42
