The Kitchen Tapes (Acoustic Disc ACD 11) is an informal recording from Frank Wakefield and Harley "Red" Allen, capturing the mandolinist and vocalist in the relaxed home-session format that Acoustic Disc — David Grisman's San Rafael label — used to preserve informal performances from artists working in the traditional idiom. Wakefield plays mandolin and sings; Allen plays guitar and sings. Wakefield's mandolin technique — shaped by years with the Greenbriar Boys and his own ensembles in the post-Monroe generation — is presented here without the pressures of formal studio recording, giving both performers room to move through the traditional bluegrass and old-time repertoire in the manner the title announces: unhurried, conversational, and shaped by pleasure rather than commercial calculation. Allen's direct tenor and Wakefield's unpredictable improvisational manner find each other in the kitchen-session format both inhabited naturally.
Tracklist
- 1 I'm just here to get my baby out of jail 2:18
- 2 Turkey in the Straw alt version 3:09
- 3 Down in the Willow Garden alt version 4:46
- 4 New Camptown Races alt version 4:13
- 5 Summertime is past and gone 2:31
- 6 Bluegrass Breakdown alt version 2:54
- 7 Muskrat song 1:15
- 8 Catnip 1:53
- 9 Crying heart blues 1:47
- 10 I can't forget old what's her name 1:08
- 11 Are You Afraid to Die alt version 2:45
- 12 Billy in the lowground 1:16
- 13 Over the hills to the poorhouse 2:10
- 14 Bluegrass Stomp alt version 3:23
- 15 I’m Blue I’m Lonesome alt version 2:50
- 16 Roanoke alt version 2:13
- 17 Nine Pound Hammer alt version 2:55
- 18 Well enough alone 2:29
- 19 Paddy on the Turnpike alt version 2:26
- 20 Tis sweet to be remembered 3:15
- 21 Swing Low Sweet Chariot alt version 2:47
- 22 Hey Mr. Mando 1:35
- 23 Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong alt version 3:16
- 24 Talk to to your heart 3:16
- 25 Rawhide alt version 2:31
