Hogwaller Ramblers (Mea Culpa, 1998)

Virginia's Hogwaller Ramblers recall a time when musicians played for the pure joy of playing. The six-man motley band of revelers dip their sound into barrels of country and bluegrass, folk and rock to come up with a sound all their own.

Off-kilter belly-to-the-bar tunes such as "Spank The Dog" and "Two White Boys" ("who couldn+t play a lick") catch the band at its best. Banjos intermingle with bluesy electric guitar and Jamie Dyer+s meaty vocals to create a fun sound. Even with more traditionally country weepers such as "Mama Don+t You Cry" the band sounds as if its leaped from some bar straight into the studio. Equally loose and free of contrivance - and full of humor - is the waltzing "She Held That Bottle."

And if singing about a drunk and crazy woman wasn+t odd enough, the band covers heavy metal band AC/DC+s "You Shook Me All Night Long." They turn an ear-splitting song of sex into a banjo sn+ fiddle slow song of sex. Hilarious. (Hogwaller Ramblers, Box 885, Charlottesville, VA 22902)