THREE THIRDS BAND: Buffalo Skinner
Three Thirds Band
Buffalo Skinner: Tribute to Woody Guthrie
Three Thirds
In the wake of the campaign surrounding the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s birth in 2012, it’s not surprising that a new tribute from a young band should be coming out. Three Thirds released Buffalo Skinner, their 5-song tribute EP, this winter.
As far as Woody tributes go, this doesn’t exactly dig deep into his catalog, but it’s important to remember why some of his best songs are ones he actually recorded. The band starts strong, with a sparse and haunting version of “Lonesome Day.” “Ranger’s Command” is performed in lovely close harmony, and the band gets their Carter Family on with “Weeping Willow,” which features the surprising but effective addition of English horn. I expected “Pretty Boy Floyd” to be a strong closer, but found the arrangement distracting, veering from great harmonies to noise in a way that wasn’t very effective.
Overall, however, the band brings a freshness to these songs, and the live-in-studio format of the recording brings out some charming imperfections that provides additional immediacy to the performances. It sounds like the band is having a great time, and in the end, what greater tribute could there be?
— Dan Greenwood