Don’t let the relaxed, back-porch vibe and unaffected vocals fool you; Ed Sweeney is an adept instrumentalist and interpreter of American and British folk music. On his ninth album, the repertoire ranges from Southern hymns to the Beatles; even the “The Mickey Mouse Club March.”

For most of the cuts, Sweeney is paired with Cathy Clasper-Torch’s violin, spotlighted on “Lament For The Death Of The Reverend Archie Beaton,” best known by fiddler Natalie MacMaster. On “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie,” she weaves erhu, a bowed instrument with two strings, around Sweeney’s sparse banjo. Sweeney offers a sturdy rendition of the hymn “When I Get Home,” learned from a recording by Elizabeth Cotten. The original fingerpicking instrumental “A Little Traveling Music,” reminiscent of Reverend Robert Wilkins’ “Prodigal Son,” bops along as befits its title.

On “Walking Boss,” Sweeney plays clawhammer banjo in the manner of Clarence Ashley, his source for the Appalachian tune. Of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” the New Englander writes, “George Harrison’s melody is so provocative, you don’t need to sing to feel its emotion,” and the guitar-violin instrumental treatment proves him right.

This charming collection should not go unnoticed.

This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.